The Wolf Awakens
by Fantasymaker76
Summary: Astrid Stark is the oldest daughter of Lord Eddard Stark. After King Robert names her father as Hand of the King, Astrid is pulled into the politics of the Game and must fight to protect her family. What will happen in the Seven Kingdoms when the fury and hatred of the wolf awakes. Rated M for violence, language and mature content in later chapters. Pairing undecided
1. Astrid Stark

**Astrid Stark:**

Roughly one year after Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell returned home after fighting for his childhood friend Robert Baratheon, he was able to witness the birth of his second child and his first daughter which he called Astrid Stark.

Astrid appeared more Stark than Tully as she had her father's thick brown hair with a trace of Auburn Red and the Stark's grey eyes. After Astrid's birth, she would be followed by four more siblings. Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon and she already had one older brother Robb and her half-brother Jon Snow.

For the first part of her life, Astrid was a kind loving girl who often sneaked out of Winterfell to nearby Wintertown where she would dress in commoner clothing and help those in need in Wintertown. This did cause issues with her mother and would start to strain their Relationship as her mother Catelyn Stark believed that she shouldn't be dressing as a commoner but Astrid nether listened.

Astrid once had a good relationship with her siblings as she helped Bran and Rickon train and learn and would help her sister learn needlework but she was close with her half-brother Jon which would be the spark what caused her relationship with her family to be strained forever.

It had started as a normal day and the boys had been training with Jon and Bran sparing when Jon accidently hit bran with his wooden too hard which accidently knocked him to the floor. Jon had helped Bran up but he did have a bruise where Jon hit him. Unfortunately, Catelyn had seen everything and had dragged Jon off believing that he had done that on purpose. Astrid caught her mother hurting Jon and she snapped after that. Even before the incident her relationship with her mother had started to break apart mainly because Astrid refused to marry a handsome southern boy and Astrid had gone deeper into worshipping the Old Gods. Astrid has shouted at her mother for hurting Jon and the incident has been remembered in Winterfell for years.

…

"What kind of a mother are you!" Astrid had roared at her mother "Jon and Bran were sparring and Jon accidently hit Bran too hard and now you are hurting Jon. I don't see this when Robb and Bran are sparring. What gives you the right to treat Jon like this?"

Catelyn narrowed her eyes at her daughter "You will watch that tongue around me young lady!" Catelyn hissed "I am your mother"

"Then stop treating Jon like trash!" Astrid snapped "He's may only be my half-brother but he is still my brother and family is important to me. Family Duty Honour, those are your family's words and you are a disgrace to those words. You treat your family the way you want them to learn even when they think differently. Your duty is to be the lady of the North but you try to force the Seven's beliefs on the Northmen even though we worship the Old Gods and you have no honour in treating Jon like trash!"

Catelyn looked shocked at her daughter's attitude, sure she had been quite shouty before but something had changed in her "Right!" she snapped "I think you need to spend less time with Luwin and more time with Septa Mordane."

Then much to Catelyn's shock, Astrid then spat on the floor "I spit on the Seven!" she hissed "I spit on that Septa you brought and I spit on you! I've had enough of this, I'm taking Jon and I'm not speaking to you until you learn to understand what family is. And I'm never visiting that Sept ever again!"

…

That incident had changed Astrid. After that she became much more aggressive and during her next sewing lessons. She and Mordane had an argument when she insulted Arya saying that she had the hands of a Blacksmith. Astrid had thrown her needlework in the Septa's face and stormed out and when her mother and the Septa tried to speak with her later that day, she threw them out of her room. Astrid and her mother didn't speak for weeks after the incident and her relationship changed. Astrid became more independent and often ate dinner in her room or spent most of her time in the Godswood of Winterfell and went deeper into the Worship of the Old Gods. She also spent less time doing needlework until she stopped needlework altogether and only ever sewed her own clothes. Secretly, she and Jon would spend time together and they would train how to right swords and soon Astrid became a fierce fighter and now she would fight with two shortswords. When her mother found out what she was doing she tried to make Astrid stop but of course she never listened. When Catelyn had punished Jon for training her, Astrid responded by smashing one of the small statues of the seven and had shown it to her mother who was shocked at what she did. Astrid even went as far as to stay that if she was the heir to Winterfell, the first thing she would do is remove the Sept and then remove Mordane saying that she didn't belong here in Winterfell. As well as being a good swords woman, Astrid was also an expert archer and had trained her sister Arya in archery.

While Astrid's relationship with her brothers remained strong, her sisters were a different story. Astrid was close with her youngest sister Arya as they both shared the same beliefs and both didn't want to be a lady and would rather be a warrior woman. But her relationship with her other Sister Sansa fell apart like it did with her mother. Sansa was a keen believer of stories of princes and knights swooping ladies off their feet. Astrid believed that these stories were just rubbish but Sansa believed in them. These different beliefs caused both siblings to start having a dislike for each other.

With her growing aggressive behaviour, many Northerns began nicknaming her the Wild Wolf due to her wild attitude. This did caused concern for her father as he knew that it was clear that his daughter Astrid had what he called Wolves' blood in her. His brother Brandon and sister Lyanna had wolves' blood and it got them both sent to an early grave. But there was nothing Eddard could do as he wanted his daughter to be happy and so he let her do what she wished. Though there was one incident with his daughter that shocked him. That incident had made people, mainly criminals start to fear Astrid Stark. This incident was that Astrid had snuck out of Winterfell like she usually does but when she didn't return, Eddard along with master of arms, Rodrik Cassel and captain of the guards, Jory Cassel had gone to Wintertown to found her what they saw shocked them.

Astrid was standing above the body of a criminal who the Winterfell guard had been trying to catch and this criminal had been reported for rape and murder of several young woman and even young children. The criminal had slipped away before the Guard could catch them but it was not the fact that Astrid had captured the criminal that shocked Eddard. The body of the criminal shown that Astrid had inflicted as much pain as she could on the criminal. One hand had been cut off, an ear was missing, and the man had been castrated and then disembowelled with his guts hanging out of the body. What was worse was that Astrid was smirking at the body as if she was pleased with herself. "That man murdered many innocent people, a beheading or hanging was too good for him, he deserved to suffer for what he did." Was what Astrid had said. Eddard normally would have executed the man by beheading him with Ice or sent him to the wall. This action had been what got her nickname of the Wild Wolf or sometimes the Savage Wolf. Astrid didn't really care for nicknames but she didn't change her attitude and she had been seen doing the same thing to other criminals but only the ones who had been horrible crimes like murder or rape. Some say that Lord GreatJon Umber of Last Hearth had been the one who gave Astrid her nickname of the Savage Wolf and he laughed when he heard the news.

Astrid would remain being a daughter of House Stark, but her name and legend would begin the day that King Robert of House Baratheon came to Winterfell after the death of Jon Arryn and name her father as Hand of the King which would be what would cause the wolf in her to awaken.

 **End:**

 **Notes: This is my first chapter about story about a Stark daughter. This story will be updated from time to time but my other two stories Dragon X and Rise of the Divines are my main stories. These chapters will be short as I will only have scenes that are about Astrid and this will not have each episode as a chapter. This story will get more bloody as we go on with the story.**


	2. Finding Wolves

**Finding Wolves:**

The journey of Astrid Stark began in the year 298 AC or After Aegon's conquest. Astrid Stark was now 15 years old, a year younger than her brother Robb and a year older than her sister Sansa. Astrid's long brown hair with a bit of auburn was now down past her shoulders. It was just another normal day with Jon and Robb teaching their younger brother Brandon or Bran how to use a bow. Her youngest sibling, Rickon was sitting on a barrel watching while Sansa and Arya were inside with Septa Mordane much to Arya's dislike. Astrid hadn't been to the Septa's lessons in a few years.

Bran was trying and failing to use a bow as his arrows missed the target and instead landed somewhere else like a bag of grain or a barrel. Jon and Robb sniggered at this and Jon confronted Bran. "Go on father's watching" he said "And your mother."

Astrid stood to the side amused and she had her bow ready to help give Bran a demonstration even though she knew her mother wouldn't approve but Astrid didn't care. She didn't really care about what her mother thought at all. Even though it had been a few years, her mother still tried to make her act like a lady but she just walked away when she brought the subject up.

Bran fired another arrow which just went right over the wall and everyone laughed

"And which one of you was a marksman at ten?" Eddard asked

"I was" Astrid said as she made her presence known and she got her bow out "Let me show you how it's done." Astrid knocked an arrow into her bow "Draw back the string until it reaches your ear, close one eye and looked along the arrow, don't take too long, hold your breath and release." Astrid said and she fired the arrow which hit the middle of the target.

"Show off" Robb muttered

Astrid laughed and he walked up to Bran and held his shoulders "Never give up brother, just keep believing in yourself."

"Your sister is right" Eddard spoke keep practising Bran."

Bran put another arrow in his bow and got the bow ready "Don't think too much Bran" Jon said

"Relax your bow arm" Robb added

Bran then started doing what Astrid taught him and then an arrow hit the centre of the target. Only it wasn't Bran's arrow. Everyone looked behind them to see Arya holding a bow and looking smug. When she did a mock bow, Bran was cross and he dropped his bow and ran after Arya which resulted in everyone laughing.

"Go on faster" Robb cheered on

"Get her Bran" Astrid laughed

Eddard and Catelyn looked amused but then they were interrupted by the arrival of the Master of Arms of Winterfell, Rodrik Cassel. "Lord Stark, my lady" he greeted "Guardsmen just road in from the hills, they've captured a deserter from the Night's Watch."

Eddard looked at Rodrik and he nodded "Get the lads to saddle their horses" he commanded

"Do you have to?" Catelyn asked

"He swore an oath Cat" Eddard replied

"Law is law my lady" Rodrik agreed

"Tell Bran and Astrid they're coming to" Eddard ordered

"Ned" Catelyn said "Ten is too young to see such things and a lady should never witness this."

"Astrid has already seen death" Eddard replied "And you know she will come anyway. And Bran won't be boy forever, and winter is coming."

"Ned, something must be done with Astrid's behaviour" Catelyn said

"Like what?" Eddard asked

"Send her to be foster with someone." Catelyn suggested "Have them show her how to be a lady."

"If we couldn't teach her then who can?" Eddard asked "Astrid will never be foster with a southern family and she will never let a Septa teach her. You already know what she threatened to do to Mordane."

Catelyn said nothing as Ned walked off. Catelyn looked down and glared at her husband's bastard son but stopped when she noticed Astrid glaring at her with a look that said 'don't even think about it'

...

Later, Eddard had brought Jon, Astrid, Robb and Bran outside of Winterfell's walls where an old tree stump would be used as the executioner's block. Several Stark guards had come along with the Stark's ward, Theon Greyjoy, a hostage after the failed Greyjoy rebellion by Balon Greyjoy. Two guards dragged the deserter from the Night's Watch over to Eddard who was whispering "I saw White Walker." Over and over.

The deserter looked at Lord Eddard Stark "I know I broke my oath, and I know I'm a deserter, I know I should have gone back to the wall and warned them, but I saw what I saw. I saw White Walkers. People need to know, get word to my family, tell them I'm no coward, and tell them I'm sorry." Eddard said nothing and he nodded to the Stark Guards and they pushed the deserter to his knees and place his head on the stump "Forgive me lord" he whispered

Theon then held out the Stark family sword, Ice out to Eddard. Ice was a Valyrian Steel blade that required two hands to use. The Stark's had carried this Blade for years. Eddard drew the sword from the wolf skin scabbard and he pointed it down "In the Name of Robert of House Baratheon, first of his name, King of the Andals and the First Men. I Eddard of House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, sentence you to die."

Bran stared as his father prepared to behead the deserter. "Don't look away." Jon said to him "Father will know if you will." Eddard then lifted the sword so it was above his shoulders, then with one great swing; he brought the sword down, beheading the man with one clean stroke. Bran didn't look away. "You did well." Jon added after the deed was done.

"Very well" Astrid agreed "That man just deserted from his post, he didn't murder anyone or rape them but he was still a deserter."

After the guards removed the body, Eddard approached Bran and he asked him "Did you know why I did it?" he asked

"Jon said he was a deserter" Bran answered

Eddard nodded "Yes, but do you understand why I had to be the one who did the deed, the one who had to behead the man."  
Bran thought for a moment before he remembered something which Maester Luwin had told him "Our way is the old way."

Eddard nodded "The man, who gives the sentence, should swing the sword, we don't use those headsmen like in the South, and we cut off criminal's heads ourselves."

Bran then looked worried "He said he saw White Walkers, could that be possible. Was he so scared by what he saw?"

Eddard looked sceptical "The Walkers are gone, a madman sees anything."

"Still I have noticed that there have been a lot of Wildlings fleeing south or People deserting from the Night's Watch." Astrid said

...

Later, Lord Stark had decided to take his children through the Wolfswood for a little ride. The Stark children, Robb, Jon, Bran and Astrid had come along as well as Theon Greyjoy. The Master of Arms, Rodrik Cassel and his nephew and the captain of Winterfell's guards, Jory had come as well. But then Eddard stopped in the road.

"What is it?" Jon asked

Eddard said nothing and he walked forward along with the others while Hullen, the master of horse took care of the horses. The group came across the body of a stag. The body was covered in blood and its intestines had been spilt. While girls would be disgusted at such a sight, Astrid had seen images of this before when she had killed criminals. It was clear that this Stag had not been killed by hunters, it had been attacked by a predator.

"Mountain Lion?" Theon suggested

"There are no mountain Lions in these woods." Eddard said

"Look, there's a trail of blood" Astrid said and she pointed toward a small trail of blood. Eddard and the rest of the group followed the trail to a small stream where the largest wolf anyone had seen was there dead with the antler of a stag wedged in its throat. Eddard knelt beside the Wolf where there were 6 little Direwolf pups snuggling against the body.

"It's a freak" Theon snorted

Astrid scoffed "This is a wolf." She said

"A Direwolf" Eddard said "Tough old beast." And then he pulled the Antler from the wolf's throat.

"There are no Direwolves south of the Wall." Robb said

"Well there are now." Astrid replied

"There are six pups" Jon said as he picked one up "Do you want to hold it?" he asked Bran and then Bran took the small pup into his arms which snuggled against him.

"Where will they go?" Bran asked "Their mother's dead."

"They don't belong down here" Rodrik said

"Better a quick death" Eddard claimed "They won't last the winter."

Theon smirked and he drew his dagger "Right, give it here" he told Bran.

"No!" Bran snapped "It's mine" he held the Direwolf away from Theon.

"Put your blade away!" Robb hissed

"I take orders from your father" Theon said but Bran still held the pup away from Theon.

"Please Father, they're just babies" Bran begged

Eddard sighed "I'm sorry Bran, but wolves are not pets."

"Lord Stark wait" Jon shouted "There are 6 pups, 3 males, 3 female. The Direwolf is the sigil of House Stark, they were meant to have them, and this is a sign."

Eddard sighed; he could see how much Bran was into his Direwolf pup and by the look of Astrid, she too was into the pups as she had also picked one of the female pups up. "You will feed them yourselves, you will train them yourselves and should they die, you will bury them yourselves. Understood."

"Yes father, thank you father" Bran said happily. Robb and Theon then picked up the other four pups taking two each. Bran then turned to Jon "What about you?" he asked

Jon looked at him "I'm not a Stark, I'm a Snow, come on let's go." He said

Astrid looked at him "You will always be a Stark Jon, no matter what mother or anyone else says so. You are a true Northman. Like how I want to be a True North woman."

Astrid carried her Direwolf pup and walked along with the others but then she heard another whimper and turned to see Jon kneeling down "What is it?" Robb asked

Jon stepped up with another Direwolf pup, only this one had white fur and Red Eyes. This one had crawled away from the others and was hiding in a small pile of leaves. "An Albino, the Runt of the Litter" Theon laughed "That one's yours Snow"

Jon looked at Astrid who gave her a smile "You see, I told you that you were still a Stark." She said as she gave a glare at Theon "Come, I can't wait to let the others see their new pets."

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes: Another Short chapter, next one will be longer as it will go into the plans before Robert's visit and when he visit's Winterfell. This story was a lot more popular than I thought it was going to be. Though I do need a name for Astrid's Direwolf, if there are any ideas, please say them.**


	3. The King in Winterfell

**The King in Winterfell**

The Stark children had quickly become attached to their Direwolf pups. Robb had chosen a dark grey male which he called Grey Wind. Sansa had taken the gentlest pup which she called Lady while Arya called hers Nymeria after the Warrior Queen of Dorne. Bran still couldn't think of a name and was going between summer and winter for his pup. Jon's was the most unique as his was an albino with white fur and red eyes. He called his pup Ghost. Astrid had taken a silver Grey Direwolf which she called Huntress since her Direwolf often went hunting for her own food. All of the Stark Children loved their Direwolves though Catelyn wasn't too happy as she said that they were not pets and they would grew into huge beasts.

But now the Stark family was preparing for a royal visit. A few days ago, there had been a raven from the capital city of King's Landing. Eddard Stark's foster father, Lord Jon Arryn and the Hand of the King had just died and now King Robert was coming north and bringing his whole household with him. The Stark Household was preparing for a Feast to be held when the King arrives and they didn't want to anger the King. Sansa was full of joy when she heard that the King was visiting "Maybe father will betroth me to a handsome Prince" she had squealed when she heard the news. Astrid and Arya had snorted, they knew better that the South wasn't a land of dreams. Astrid did not get along well with Sansa or her best friend Jeyne Poole who always mocked Arya. One time Astrid had threatened them if she caught them being mean and she had rigged Sansa's room with a bucket of water when she had called Arya Horseface. When her mother demanded her to apologize, she refused saying.

"I'm not sorry for anything" she hissed "Sansa and her friend are being mean to Arya just because she doesn't want to do needlework. If that's how she behaves then she is a horrible sister and until she learns that family is important, then I won't speak to her again."

That was just one incident, Arya had also hidden Sheep dung in Sansa's bed one time and it had taken ages to find the source of the smell.

…

A few weeks later, the news came that the King was close and the Stark children were preparing for meeting the King. The Stark children had to wear their best clothes and stand next to their parents.

But right now, Brandon Stark was on the roof of Winterfell keep and he could see the King and his men approaching in the distance. Quickly he began to climb down so he could inform his mother that the King was close. But his mother called him as he made his final climb "Brandon!"

Bran smirked "I saw the King, he's got hundreds of people."

"How many times have I told you, no climbing?" Catelyn exclaimed

"But I saw the King." Bran said excitingly

Catelyn walked up to him "I want you to promise me, no more Climbing"

Bran sighed and then he looked at his feet "I promise."

Catelyn sighed "Do you know, you always look at your feet, before you lie." Bran smirked and Catelyn added "Go and find your father, tell him the King is close."

Soon everyone stood in front of the Great Hall of Winterfell. Eddard and Catelyn stood together with Rickon stood next to Eddard. Then everyone was in age order with Robb first, then Astrid, Sansa and Bran. But Arya was missing. "Where's Arya?" Catelyn wondered "Sansa Astrid have you seen your sister."

Sansa shrugged her shoulders while Astrid spoke "She's probably gone off to see the King as he rides." She smirked and then Arya came although she was wearing a guard's helmet.

"Hey, what are you doing with that on?" Eddard asked as he took the helmet of Arya's head "Go stand with your siblings." Arya then pushed past Bran and stood in his place.

Then everyone watched as the King's household road into Winterfell with some soldiers first and then the King himself road in and the people were in for a shock. King Robert Baratheon had been a great warrior who had defeated the Targaryens and become the new King of the Seven Kingdoms. He defeated and Killed Prince Rhagear Targaryen at the Battle of the Trident and was nicknamed the demon of the Trident. Now King Robert was just a fat mat and his horse could barely support his weight and his face had a thick bushy beard that covered his chin. Riding behind him came his oldest son, Prince Joffrey Baratheon.

Joffrey wore fine robes of crimson red and black and thick fur to keep him warm. The look on his face showed that he didn't want to be here though he had a smug grin on his face. Astrid had heard that this Prince was a royal prick and his look only proved that, Astrid didn't trust anyone from the South or their southern beliefs about Knighthood, she found that foolish and stupid. Sansa however had a dreamy look on her face, she believed those stories about handsome Princes rescuing ladies in need. Sansa and her friend Jeyne dreamt of marrying a handsome man from the south. Astrid knew better that the South was nothing like that as politics led to arrange marriages which were often loveless and in some cases, abusive. Behind Prince Joffrey road his Sworn Shield, a man with a half burnt face and had a helmet that looked like a snarling Hound. A large Wheelhouse carrying the royal family followed the King along with the rest of the Guards which had mainly Lannister guards.

The Stark family and everyone else knelt in respect as did everyone else in Winterfell and then King Robert dismounted his Horse with help from a stool brought by a servant and he walked over to Lord Eddard Stark was held out his hand which was a signal to stand. Eddard stood up "Your Grace" he greeted

Robert looked at him "You've got fat" he said and there were a few moments of silence until Eddard looked at the King's fat stomach saying 'so have you' and then the King gave a loud chuckle as he and Eddard embraced. "Cat" he added as he hugged Catelyn Stark and then rubbed Rickons head "Nine years. Why haven't I seen you where have you been?"

"Guarding the North for you" Eddard said

Robert then turned to the Stark children "So you must be Robb" he said "It looks like you will be a fine lord of the North one day." Then he looked at Astrid "So you're Astrid the Wild Wolf. I've heard about you, they say that Criminals are terrified of you. I would love to see you fight." Then he looked at Sansa "My you're a pretty one" Sansa smiled and then the King looked at Arya "And your name is?" Robert had never met Arya before

"Arya" Arya greeted

Then the King turned to Bran "Show us your muscles lad" he said and Bran held out his arms and showed his muscles. Robert smiled "You will make a fine Soldier one day."

Then one of the King's Guard lifted his helmet to show a handsome face covered with long blond hair. "That's Jaime Lannister, the Queen's twin brother." Arya gasped

"Will you shut up" Sansa hissed only to be hit by Astrid

"Knock it off both of you!" she hissed

Then Queen Cersei stepped out of the Wheelhouse. Queen Cersei was beautiful and had long blond hair which went down her back though the look on her face showed that she was shrewd and wanted power. She was the daughter of Tywin Lannister, the Richard man in the Seven Kingdoms and also a man who was known to be ruthless. Following the Queen were her younger children, a plump little boy called Tommen and a slightly older girl called Mrycella. The queen went to Lord Eddard and held out her hand which Eddard kissed her ring as was tradition.

"Take me to your crypts Ned" King Robert spoke "I want to pay my respects."

"We've been riding for nearly a month" Queen Cersei spoke "Surely the dead can wait."

Robert ingnored her "Ned" he said and Eddard sighed and then he and the King went down to Winterfell's crypts.

"Where's the Imp?" Arya asked again.

Astrid saw Queen Cersei turn to her twin brother "Where is our brother, go find the little beast."

…

The Crypts of Winterfell were dark and were just like the Halls of the Dead where people who worshipped the Nine Divines were buried. Many graves had a statue on top of them though some had crumbled because of age. Each of the Lords of Winterfell had an Iron Sword on their grave as well. Eddard and Robert walked through the halls and they talked to each other.

"Tell me about Jon Arryn?" Eddard said

"Well one minute he was fine, next thing he falls. Fever burnt right though him. I loved that man." Robert responded

"We both did." Eddard agreeded

"He never had to teach you much but me." Robert looked at him "Do you remember me at 16, all I wanted to do was crack skulls and fuck girls. He showed me what was what." Robert then saw Eddard smirking at him "Don't look at me like that, it's not his fault I didn't listen." Then the two of them stopped walking "I need you Ned. I came here so I could give you something. In the name of Robert of House Baratheon, I appoint you, Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell as Hand of the King."

Eddard looked at him "Your Grace, I'm not worthy."

"It's not meant to be an honour, I need you to help run my Kingdom while I drink and whore my way into an early grave. I would have appointed my Son Martin but he's still young. Damn it Ned Stand up." Robert tapped Ned on the shoulder and he stood up "You helped me win the Iron Throne now help me keep it. We were meant to rule together, if your sister had lived we'd be brothers, I want that to carry on, I have a son, you have a daughter we'll unite our houses together in marriage. My son Joffrey and one of your daughters."

"I need time to think this through your Grace." Eddard said "Though about the marriage, I don't think marrying Astrid to your son is a good idea. She hates everything about the South and she would never marry a southern boy."

"Well you have two more daughters." Robert said.

…

Later, King Robert held a feather in his hands as he kneeled in front of the statue of his lost love, Lyanna Stark, the she wolf of Winterfell. There was so much that was similar to Lyanna and Lord Stark's second daughter, Arya and also Astrid, they both had the wild nature of Lyanna though Astrid was quite aggressive. Robert placed the feather in the statue's stone hands "Did you have to bury her in a place like this? She should be on a hill somewhere with the sun and clouds above her."

"She was my sister" Eddard said "She belonged here."

Robert had a few tears in his eyes "She belonged with me." Robert stroked the cheek of the statue "In my dreams I kill him every night." Robert added as he talked about Rhagar Targaryen, the man who kidnapped Lyanna and caused her death.

"It's over your Grace, the Targaryen's are gone." Eddard said calmly.

Robert's voice turned cold and angry "Not all of them!" he growled

…

Later that day, the day went on as normal after the King had left the crypts. The Stark girls minus Astrid were having lessons with Mordane along with Princess Myrcella and Sansa's friend Jeyne Poole. As usual, Mordane praised Sansa and Jeyne's needlework and also praised Myrcella's but Arya noticed that Myrcella's needlework was like hers. Crooked but Mordane didn't want to upset a Princess. The boys were all outside sparing and later at night they would have a big feast to welcome the King.

Arya really didn't care about these lessons on how to be a lady. She wanted to be a warrior like Nymeria the Dornish Queen. Her sister Astrid knew how to use weapons though she knew full well that Astrid had a bad relationship with her mother. It was then that she noticed Sansa and Jeyne talking.

"Did you see the Crown Prince, he's so handsome." Sansa giggled

"I heard that your father and the King were talking about marrying the crown Prince to one of your father's daughters." Jeyne added "Think about it Sansa, you could be queen of the Seven Kingdoms and we get to live in the Grand Capital."

Sansa shook her head "Tradition is that the Crown Prince would marry the oldest daughter and that's Astrid."

Arya snorted "You two know full well that Astrid would never agree to marry someone from the south" she snorted "She hates the South."

"Well maybe she should stop acting like a savage and act like a lady" Jeyne snorted

"Don't let Astrid catch you saying that" Arya hissed "You know full well what happened last time you said that to her." Arya was talking about the time when Astrid had given Jeyne a broken arm and a black eye as punishment.

"Well I think the Prince is handsome" Sansa said dreamly "What do you think of him?"

Arya snorted "Jon says that he looks like a girl the way he dresses." She snorted

"Arya you can't say things like that in front of the Princess" Sansa gasped "And Jon is just jealous because he is a bastard."

"He's my brother" Arya hissed "And Astrid is more of a sister to me than you are. She's not afraid to stand up for herself, and where is she anyway?"

"Most likely with the boys sparing" Sansa snorted

"Arya Stark this will not do!" Septa Mordane hissed as she looked at her needlework which was crooked again "She are a little lady, not a savage like your oldest sister."

That caused Arya to snap. She slapped Mordane hard on the face and then threw her needlework in her face "Shut you. Shut up you ungrateful cow!" she growled "If Astrid had her way you would be on the next cart out of here. Astrid is my sister and she says that you don't belong here. I've had it with this, I don't want to be a lady and I never will be. I'm going to watch the boys spar." And with that Arya stormed out of the room.

Arya later came to the balcony over the courtyard. There she found her brother Jon watching the boys spar. Bran was sparring against the youngest prince Tommen. Tommen was a plump little boys but the fight ended with Bran winning.

"Why aren't you down there?" Arya asked Jon "You're one of Winterfell's best fighters."

"Bastards cannot hurt princes." Jon said "It seems that Astrid has taken a dislike to the Prince."

"Well I'm not surpised" Arya said "She hates everything to do with the South."

"Well you want to be like her" Jon smirked "And do you see that Prince's own sigil, he has both his mother and father's house on his sigil. Maybe you should add the Tully Sigil to your personal sigil."

"A wolf with a fish in its mouth?" Arya laughed "That would look silly and besides, if I can't fight, why should I have a sigil."

"Why don't you ask Astrid to train you?" Jon asked "She wouldn't mind." Then his face turned grim "Uh oh, looks like the Prince is about to start a fight."

Down in the Courtyard, Prince Joffrey looked smug "This is a game for children. Are you training little boys to fight?"

"I'm training men!" Rodrik hissed "This is how people usually train. How would you train?"

"Live steel" Joffrey answered smugly

"Done" Robb snorted "You will be sorry"

Rodrik shook his head "Now boys I cannot allow live steel to be used in training. Someone could get seriously hurt."

"It's just like I said" Joffrey laughed "you're training little boys or maybe little girls" she sneered at Astrid who glared at him and the Lannister men laughed.

Jon shook his head on the balcony "Now he's done it." He said "He's in for it now."

"Shut it you ungrateful little brat!" Astrid yelled and she got one of her own swords out and looked at Rodrik "Stay out of this Rodrik" she said and the she turned back to the Prince "If you want live steel then let's go."

Joffrey laughed "And why should I fight you? Mother says that a prince or king should never hurt a lady."

"Well it's a good job that I'm not a lady then" Astrid smirked "I am a warrior of the North. Now are we going fight or are you too much of a coward by hiding behind your guards"

Joffrey glared and looked at the Lannisters Guards telling them to stay back and he drew his sword which he called Lion's tooth. "I'll show you how a prince fights" he boasted and then the two charged at each other. Though the fight didn't last too long. Astrid saw Joffrey charging and jumped to the side as he swung causing his sword to hit the ground. Joffrey swung again and Astrid easily deflected the blow. Astrid noticed that Joffrey was sending his blows too hard and eventually, Astrid used her sword and deflected Joffrey's swing which caused his sword to fly from his hands. Astrid then hit Joffrey on the head with the hilt of the sword which knocked him to the ground.

Astrid looked in disgust at Joffrey, he acting like he knew everything but it was clear that he had not training what so ever. "Is this some kind of a joke to you?" Astrid glared "You are the future King of the Seven Kingdoms and you are acting like a spoilt little brat you can have whatever he wants. Kings or princes who act like that never last long. Maybe you should start paying more attention on how to rule."

Up on another Balcony. King Robert and Lord Eddard Stark watched as Astrid easily took out Joffrey "Well I can't say that she is wrong about my son" Robert said "He spends way too much time with his mother and I know that I have been a bad father. But his mother is way too protective of him and refuses to allow me to Foster him. Though I see a lot of Lyanna in your daughter."

Eddard looked at him "People have said that before" he said "And that's what worries me. She clearly has Wolf's Blood in her just like Lyanna and Brandon had and that brought both of them to an early grave."

"Maybe some time in the south will help calm her" Robert suggested

"She won't like that one bit" Eddard said "She hates everything to do with the south. But I will talk to her about it."

…

Later that night, it was time for the feast. The Great Hall of Winterfell had the large tables filled with food from all over the North as well as the best ale you could get in the north. There was beef, pork, boar and chicken. Lord Eddard Stark sat at the head table along with his wife and the Queen who had a look which said that she didn't want to be here. She looked at her husband in digust as he was flirting with a servant girl. Eddard didn't like the way the King acted in the Great Hall but said nothing. Sansa and her friend Jeyne sat near the main table where Sansa noticed Joffrey giving Sansa a look. Robb sat near Sansa while Bran and Rickon had already gone to bed. Arya was hiding somewhere and Astrid sat near the back where she preferred to be. Though Astrid stepped out of the hall when she noticed that someone was missing. Her half-brother Jon was not in the great Hall most likely because of Catelyn again.

So Astrid went outside to find Jon. Then she found him using a sword against a straw dummy like he usually did. Then she heard a horse come into Winterfell and smiled when she saw her uncle Benjen Stark. She smiled when she saw Benjen and Jon embraced but her smile fell when she heard Jon about wanting to go North to the Night's Watch. Then when Benjen went inside, she made herself known.

"You don't have to join the Night's Watch is it is because of mother" Astrid spoke and she laughed when Jon jumped in shock as she hadn't seen her.

"How long have you been there?" Jon asked

"Long enough" Astrid smiled "Why weren't you inside, you should be with family."

"Your mother thought it might insult the royal family to seat a Bastard in their mist." Jon said

Astrid narrowed her eyes "My mother has no say in whether or not you can stay. It is father's position to do that. Besides, the King gets drunk a lot, he wouldn't even notice. So you are going in and stay by me because you are staying whether mother likes it or not."

So Jon went back into the Hall with Astrid. When Lady Catelyn saw him she was about to go and tell him to leave but stopped herself when she saw Astrid near him. She knew that Astrid would defend Jon and cause a scene if she tried to kick Jon out. But she would be having words with Astrid later.

…

Later when Astrid was getting ready for bed, she heard a knock at the door. "Come in" Astrid said and then the door opened to reveal her mother and father.

"Why did you bring that Bastard into the Hall?" Catelyn demanded "It could insult the royal family."

"His name is Jon mother and I don't care what the royal family thinks." Astrid hissed "Beside, King Robert was too drunk to notice."

"I think that this behaviour has to stop" Catelyn said "You are meant to be a lady, not a savage. You will stop this swordplay and you will attend lessons with Septa Mordane."

There were a few second of silence until Astrid burst into laughter "As if I will listen to that." She laughed

"How will you marry?" Catelyn said "No handsome southern boy will want someone who acts like a savage as a wife."

"I don't care what these Southern pricks think!" Astrid hissed "I will not marry. And that Septa can go drown in a river for all I care. If I had any say I would have her kicked out of Winterfell. This is the North and the Old Gods rule here. Not the stupid seven. And I keep my weapons in here so you can't take them! If that's all you have to say then I want you to leave. Right now!"

Catelyn sighed and then she stood up and left while Eddard looked at her in disapproval "You should be more respectful towards her." He said "She is your mother and she will not be happy."

"So what" Astrid scoffed "She's not happy about anything that isn't her way. I don't care how children obey their mothers in the South. I'm a Northern Woman and I don't care about the Seven or their stupid beliefs. I believe in the Old Gods and I don't care about being a perfect Lady. She needs to realise this instead of trying to force me to do things her way. I don't want to marry a idiotic prince or knight."

"Astrid listen to me" Eddard sighed "I know you will not like this but I need you to come South with me. I have accepted the position of Hand of the King. Sansa, Bran and Arya will be coming with me. And I need you with me as well."

Astrid snorted "If this is some way to get me to believe in the Seven or be a lady then it won't work."

"I know it wouldn't" Eddard sighed "But I need you to look after you sisters. I have seen what happens on the South and your sisters need someone who can protect them. Someone who is not afraid to stand up. But I hope that this will calm your temper a bit. You have wolf's blood in you just like my sister and older brother. That took them to an early grave. I don't want that to happen to you."

Astrid sighed, her father did bring up a point. "All right, I will come south but it is only to protect my sisters. I don't trust the queen or the prince. And I don't care who they are if anyone hurts my sister then there will be consequences." Eddard stared at her in worry, this attitude could cause issues in the future.


	4. The Journey South

The Journey South:

 **I got a note about why Astrid hates the South and her relationship with her family. So in this chapter it will show why Astrid hates the South and her mother.**

Winterfell was in chaos. Bran had fallen from the broken tower and now he was in bed unconscious and not waking up. Maester Luwin said that Bran would live and that he would wake up soon. But sadly his legs had been crippled and he would never walk again. Astrid was with her half brother Jon, despite the fall Eddard Stark had no choice but to leave South now. Jon would be coming too to join the Night's Watch much to Astrid's dislike. But Jon wanted to say goodbye to Bran but Lady Catelyn was in there and Astrid knew how she would react so Astrid decided that she would come with Jon.

The two arrived at Bran's chambers and entered. Bran was lying in bed and Catelyn was kneeling at his bed. She turned and glared at Jon "What are you doing here bastard?" she snarled

Astrid glared at her mother "Jon has every right to be here." She hissed

"I'm here to say goodbye to my brother" Jon added calmly.

"No!" Catelyn snarled "He is not your brother, you are nothing but a mistake. It should have been you bastard!"

"SHUT UP NOW!" Astrid shouted so loudly that she was sure that it was heard across Winterfell "Jon is my brother and he is Bran's brother as well. He has every right to be here and this may be his last chance to see Bran. Your family's words are Family Duty Honour. But you don't take your words very well as you never let your family make their own choices. Arya and I want to be northern warriors like the Mormonts but you want us to be good southern ladies. Well this is what I say to that." Astrid then spat on the ground "This is the North and families like the Umbers and Karstarks would spit on your southern ways. This is the North and we believe in the Old Gods not the foolish Seven. But you know what, I don't know why I even bother with you. You never listen to me and I think I'm done with you. I have a job to protect Sansa and Arya and if they listen then they won't get hurt."

Catelyn and Jon stared at Astrid in shock at her outburst; they knew just how much Astrid had a bad relationship with her mother but it had never gone this far. Astrid late stormed out of the room and waited outside to wait until Jon had said goodbye to Bran.

...

Later Astrid was getting ready to leave for King's Landing. She was wandering around the courtyard where she spotted Jon at the Blacksmith's as he got a new sword which he said was a gift to Arya.

"So you are the wolf I heard tales about" a voice called and Astrid turned to see the dwarf Lannister Tyrion walking towards her.

"What kind of tales?" Astrid asked him. Of all of the Lannister, Tyrion was the one that Astrid was okay with. Jaime was arrogant and Cersei was power hungry and the exact reason why she didn't trust anyone in the South.

"Well I heard the tale about how you killed a criminal in quite a brutal way and how you don't get along with your family" Tyrion replied

"Well some stories tend to be exaggerated" Astrid said "But I did kill a criminal in a vicious way. This man had been responsible for murdering innocent people in Wintertown and they had been killed in quite brutal ways. I believe in an old saying that terrible crimes must be paid in blood. That man murdered innocent people and ruined other lives. A hanging or beheading was too good for him. In the days of old, criminals used to be slaughtered on a Weirdwood tree and their entrails hung of them as offerings. That is the type of Northern that I am. I believe the South is just too soft for my liking, they all play games while we Northerns have to fight the cold every day and also attacks by Wildlings."

"But what about your family?" Tyrion asked "Why do you not get along with them."

"Well I do actually" Astrid said "I love my family and I will protect my family with my life. That's why I agreed to go south because I don't trust that prick of a Prince. I don't like the way he looks at my sister."

"Well he is a prick" Tyrion laughed "Thinks he knows everything which he clearly doesn't as you showed him yesterday. Just be careful, he won't forget that."

"Well good" Astrid laughed "But I'm not afraid of him. He should be afraid of me since he has seen what I can do. Just how good is he when he is not around his mother? If he acts like that when he becomes a King, a king who does whatever he likes then all he will do is start a civil war just like the Mad King. Even if he thinks everyone loves him or obeys his orders, how many people loved the Mad King when he first ruled and then turned on him as he went Mad?"

"A fair point" Tyrion said

...

A few days later, King Robert and he Stark household which included Lord Eddard Stark and his three daughters along with his steward Vayon Poole and his daughter Jeyne along with Jory Cassel the Captain of the Winterfell guards and Septa Mordane.

Right now Sansa was walking around an inn where they had stopped for the night with her Direwolf Lady on a lead. Lady was the gentlest of the Direwolves and acted like a proper lady. The Queen had invited the three Stark daughters to the wheelhouse and now Sansa was going to see her sisters. She hadn't got on so well with Astrid for years now mainly due to the fact that she refuses to act like a proper lady and the many arguments she had with her mother. She eventually found Astrid and Arya with their Direwolves Nymeria and Huntress.

"Are you two coming to the Wheelhouse with the Queen and Princess?" Sansa asked

Arya snorted "I don't want to go. I don't like the queen; she won't let me bring Nymeria. She says the Wheelhouse is no place for a Direwolf."

"And I hate anything to do with the South" Astrid snorted

"But why?" Sansa asked "The south is beautiful."

"Maybe on the outside but I don't like the politics of the South." Astrid said "They say in the Game of Thrones you win or you die. That's just people grabbing power when they don't deserve it. I only came to make sure my family is safe."

"So where will you two go then?" Sansa asked

"Mycah and I are going to the Ruby Ford to look for Rubies." Arya said

Sansa looked confused "What rubies?"

Astrid sighed "Sister do you ever pay attention in Luwin's lessons?" she questioned "The Ruby Ford was where King Robert duelled Prince Rhaegar at the battle of the Trident. His breastplate was shattered and the rubies on his breastplate scattered. Personally I think it's a waste of time but I'm keeping an eye on Arya."

The two of them left and Sansa carried on her walk with Lady until she came across a stern looking man. "Pardon me ser" she said politely but the man didn't say anything back. She then jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see the scared face of Prince Joffrey's sworn shield Sandor Clegane or better known as the Hound.

"Do I frighten you so much girl?" Sandor asked "Or is it him there that is making shake. He frightens me too. Just look at that face, it terrifies people."

Sansa turned back to the man "I'm sorry if I offended you Ser" Sansa said but the man just went off "Why won't he speak to me?" Sansa wondered turning back to the Hound

"Well he hasn't been very talkative for the past 20 years." Sandor replied "Not since the Mad King had his tongue ripped out with hot pincers for saying that Tywin was the true ruler while he was a powerless puppet."

"He speaks well with his sword though" Sansa heard Prince Joffrey say as he walked off "Ser Ilyn Payne the King's Justice." Sansa looked at him a bit confused "The royal executioner." He added "What is wrong my sweet?" Joffrey cupped Sansa's chin "Does the Hound frighten you? Away with you, dog, you're scaring my lady." The Hound snorted and walked away. "Would you like to go for a walk my Lady? We'll get to know each other better."

"I'll be honoured Your Grace" Sansa replied

So later the two of them had taken a walk along the River as they chatted to each other about their lives. "So you are Lord Stark's 2nd daughter?" Joffrey questioned "Normally the Prince would marry the oldest daughter."

"Well Astrid would never marry a woman from the South" Sansa said "She hates everything about the South. She claims that anyone South of the Neck would kill for power."

"The South is not like that at all" Joffrey said "Did she ever spend time with the Septa?"

"She did at one time" Sansa said "But over time she grew bitter about the Seven and she believed more in the Old Gods. This drove her to leave the Septa's lessons. She and Mordane had a fierce argument where she called the North uncivilized. She left after that and she never came back. That was one thing that made her hate the South. She started training to fight which broke the relationship between her and mother and now the two can't stand each other."

"Well she's not a boring woman." Joffrey smirked and then she pulled out a wineskin "Would you like some wine to drink."

Sansa stared at the wineskin "My father will not allow me to have more than a cup of wine at dinner" she said

"You will one day be my queen" Joffrey said "My Queen will be allowed as much wine as she like" Joffrey then took a large drink from the wineskin.

...

Further down the stream, Astrid watched as Arya and Mycah hit each other with sticks and they laughed. They were pretending that they were knights and were laughing and having fun and they knocked each other over. Astrid smiled as this as if her mother had her way then Arya would be living an unhappy life that she hated. Mother believed that her way was the right way which was a way that she hated. Learning how to be a proper lady and a lord's wife. Astrid did not want that at all. She was of the North and many women of Northern Houses like the Umbers and the Mormonts knew how to fight. Her mother did not understand the ways of the North which was what caused the relationship between the 2 to fall apart. Then Astrid looked into the distance and sighed

"Uh oh, here comes trouble" she said and then Arya and Mycah stopped fighting and they turned to see Prince Joffrey along with their sister Sansa.

"Arya!" Sansa gasped

"What are you doing?" Arya hissed "Go away we're practicing."

"Is this your sister?" Joffrey smirked "And who is this" he pointed at Mycah

"He's the butcher's boy" Sansa said

"He is my friend!" Arya hissed

"A butcher's boy pretending to be a knight" Joffrey sneered "Pick up your sword boy"

"It's not a sword my lord" Mycah whimpered "It's a stick."

"I am not a lord" Joffrey hissed "I am your Prince and your better." He then cut Mycah's cheek with a knife.

"THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH OF THAT!" a voice roared and everyone turned to see Astrid glaring at the Prince "I am here to keep an eye of Arya and I will not have anyone try to hurt her or her friends. And that includes a Prince. So why don't the two of you just carry on your walk."

"Your dare make commands of your prince!" Joffrey roared as he drew his own sword which he named Lion's Tooth

"Put the sword down idiot!" Astrid hissed "I already kicked your ass back at Winterfell and fighting will only damage our father's relationship. Now put the sword down and carry on your walk and I'll pretend that this never happened."

Joffrey just glared and before anyone could stop him, he swung his sword hard at Astrid who jumped backwards much to everyone's shock "I'll gut you ,you cunt!" he roared and Astrid was forced to bring her own sword out to defend herself.

"Idiot boy stop this now!" Astrid roared "You're drunk, you need to stop this and go back to camp before you make a mistake."

"The only mistake I made is not punishing you for humiliating me!" Joffrey roared and then he attacked Astrid again. Astrid had the upper hand but she didn't want to hurt the Prince as it would caused problems for her family. But then Joffrey did a cowardly trick and kicked Astrid in the stomach which knocked her back and then he raised his sword above her but it never fell as Arya's Direwolf charged and bit the Prince's hand and he yelled in agony "Get it off!" he screamed "Get it off!"

Arya was able to pull Nymeria off the Prince but then she panicked and she threw Joffrey's sword in the river and ran off along with Mycah.

"My prince of you okey?" Sansa asked

"Get off me" Joffrey hissed "Don't touch me!"

But then a fist collided with Joffrey's face and it was Astrid's fist who was fuming "You stupid fucking idiotic prince!" she roared "Are you trying to kill me? You should be lucky that Nymeria stopped you because if you had killed me then my family would be after your head. They did it with the Targaryens after Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna Stark." She then turned to Sansa "Get this idiot back to the Inn while I find Arya so we can sort this situation out." Then she glared at the Prince "And if you lie then you will be in even more trouble."

...

So Astrid went to search for his sister Arya who had run off. She was really pissed off at that Prince. She made a note to herself to make sure that he was punished for what he did as she would not let his actions go unpunished. But right now, she was more concerned with finding her sister, unlike her Arya had no experience with surviving in the Wild. She also wanted her sister safe, if anyone hurt her then there would be hell to pay. No one hurts her family and she didn't care if Lannister Soldiers tried to take her. She found that true when she found her sister being harassed by several Lannister soldiers, most likely sent by the queen or the prince.

"All right you little cunt" a Lannister soldier sneered at Arya "You're coming with us. The queen wants a word with you."

"Or maybe we can have fun with you instead" another one sneered

"Or maybe you should let her go now while a give you the chance." Astrid spoke and all of the soldiers turned to see Astrid looking pissed off as she held her sword in her hand and her Direwolf Huntress was growling at her feet.

The leader of the Lannister men laughed "What's one little girl going to do with us?" he joked "We are five strong Lannister men and you are just one savage Northern Girl. The other men joined in his laughing but their smiles fell when Astrid threw a knife at one of the guards which pierced his neck causing the man to chock on his own blood before dropping dead. The other men looked in horror and then Astrid sent Huntress on them and she tore the throat of another Guard out. The remaining guards drew their swords and charged at her, but despite these guards having training, Astrid was still strong and she easily dodged one attack and swung her sword and slashed the throat of one guard before stabbing another one through the chest. The only one left was the leader and they fought each other for a while until Astrid caught him by surprise as she swung her sword low which off one of the guard's lower legs off and the man screamed in agony at his lost foot. Then Astrid stabbed her dagger into the leader's hand.

Astrid stood above the leader "Now who gave you the right to harass my sister?" she demanded

"Fuck you, you northern slut!" The leader growled

Astrid smirked before she stomped on the man's hand before kicking him in the chest which broke a few ribs "That was my sister" Astrid hissed "Anyone who messes with my sister messes with me. And now I will ask you again, who gave you the right to assault my sister."

"It was the Queen!" the man gasped desperately "It was the queen, she ordered us to bring back for attacking her son. She said that she wanted her punished for beating her son with clubs and setting the Direwolf on him. Now please, let me go."

Astrid just sneered and she got her dagger ready "Now why would I do that? I never said I would let you go and besides, you attacked my sister and being of the South doesn't make you immune to Northern Laws. The attack on a member of a noble family by a common man like you is death. And the is what is going to happen and the Queen won't do anything as the North will go down on her family hard." The man widened his eyes but could do anything due to his foot having been cut off and his hand broken. Astrid stabbed the man lightly in the neck with her dagger then slashed the dagger which slit the man's throat.

Arya watched with widened eyes. She would be lying if she said that Astrid didn't scare her. Her sister really was scary when she was angry or pissed off. Astrid then looked at her with soft eyes "Arya are you all right?" she asked "Did those bastards hurt you? Where is Nymeria?"

"I'm fine sister" Arya said "They didn't hurt me, they just made threats. And Nymeria is gone, I sent her away, they would have killed her."

"Don't worry sister" Astrid said as she hugged her sister "You're safe now. I'm taking you back to father."

...

The Stark household was in uproar. Not too long ago Prince Joffrey had been dragged in shouting that Arya Stark and her friend the butcher's boy had attacked him with clubs and set the Direwolf on him. The Stark guards were outraged at the accusation and some were ready to start a fight with the Lannister guards. King Robert and Lord Eddard had managed to stop any fights but they needed to get to the truth. Of course Queen Cersei would only accept that Arya had beaten Joffrey and wanted the girl punished. Eddard was worried that Lannister men would find her daughter but he was happy when Astrid came back with Arya.

"Oh Arya" Eddard gasped as he embraced his daughter "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine dad" Arya said "I'm just in shock."

"Arya the prince is saying that you attacked him with clubs." Eddard gasped "The queen is out for blood."

"That filthy no good son of a bitch!" Astrid growled "That bastard is nothing but a coward and a liar."

"What really happened Astrid?" Eddard asked

"Well I was watching as Arya and Mycah played with each other when Sansa and the Prince came along for a walk. It would have been fine if the prince had just gone off on his walk but it looked like he had been drinking and then he started a fight and attacked me."

"Lord Stark" called a man and everyone looked to see one of the King's messengers arrive "The King is ordering you to come to the Inn with your daughters."

Eddard sighed, he knew that this was going to happen "All right, let's go and try and sort this situation out." And then she looked at Astrid "And try and keep that temper under control Astrid, let me do the talking."

"I won't make a promise that I can't keep" Astrid sighed.

...

At the tavern, Astrid was fuming when she heard the Prince complain about how Arya had beaten him with clubs and then set her Direwolf on him. If that bastard wasn't a prince, she would have charged at him and then beaten him to within an inch of his life. "My son told us everything" Cersei raged "You and the butcher's boy beat him with clubs and had your Direwolf attack him. That beast nearly tore off his arm!"

"That's not true!" Arya shouted "Nymeria only bit him a little!"

"That's a lie!" Joffrey lied "They attacked me and threw my sword in the river!"

"Liar!"

"Shut up!"

"Enough!" the king shouted, he had enough of this bickering "She says one thing and my son says another. What am I to make of this Ned?" Then he turned to Astrid "Were you there to?" he asked

"Yes your Grace, I was" Astrid said

"And you didn't stop an attack on the Prince?" Cersei raged

Astrid laughed "I really don't care about the South. My duty is to protect my family. And that Prince is a liar. He attacked me first when I tried to diffuse the situation. All he needed to do was just ignore us and carry on his walk with my sister Sansa."

"You liar!" Joffrey raged

"Enough!" Robert bellowed at him and then he turned to Eddard "Where is your other daughter?"

"In bed asleep" Eddard said

"No she isn't" Cersei smirked "Lady Sansa come here." Astrid looked to see her sister Sansa looking nervous along with Ser Meryn Trant of the Kingsgiard behind her.

"Come closer" Robert said softly "Now tell us what happened. It is a great crime to lie to the King."

Sansa couldn't say much but she eventually said "I don't remember what happened" she said "It all happened you quickly."

"You liar!" Arya said and then she charged at Sansa only to be held back by Astrid "Liar" Liar" Liar!"

"She's a wild as that Beast of hers!" Cersei raged "I want her punished!"

"If anyone lays one hand on my sisters, then they will be punished the Northern Way!" Astrid roared and she glared at the Prince "It is clear that this coward of a prince is lying. He claims to have been beaten with clubs. If that had happened then he would have had bruises and broken bones which he does not have. And if the Direwolf had been sent on him then it would have torn out his throat. Also he is not even looking at people in the eye when he tells his lies."

"You're wrong!" Joffrey ragged

"Shut up now!" Robert yelled at him "I've had enough of this. I know full well that you are lying. At least the Stark girls can look at me in the eye. She's right, you are a coward and I think it is time that this stops. There will be no more talking about this incident."

Astrid still glared at the Prince "You should be lucky that you are a Prince. If you were someone else then I would have had you flogged and then taken a hand off for lying and attack a member of another Noble Family."

"Astrid that is enough" Eddard said "Let's go now."

Astrid and the other Stark family all began to leave as Astrid and Arya glared at Sansa when Cersei added "And what of the Direwolf?" she asked

Robert sighed "I've forgotten about the damned wolf"

"My sister sent the wolf away" Astrid said

"Gone then, so be it" Robert said

"We have two more wolves here" Cersei smirked

"Don't you even think about it!" Astrid hissed "If anyone lays a hand on any of the Direwolves then they will lose that hand. Am I understood?"

"All right, no one touches the wolves" Robert said much to Cersei's anger "And I won't hear another word about it woman. Though maybe it would be best if the wolves are sent back to Winterfell."

"Well I don't care" Astrid snorted "My Direwolf stays with me. Maybe it will keep that Prince in line and remained him of what will happen if he angers a Stark."

Robert sighed and agreed, he just wanted this argument to be over. Eddard noticed the glares that Astrid and Joffrey sent to each other. He just hopped that Astrid could hold her temper because if she snapped, then the kingdoms would bleed.

 **Chapter end**

 **Author's notes: Well I finally had this chapter complete. After I got a review about why Astrid was so aggressive, I decided to show it here. Astrid doesn't get along well with her mother or Sansa because they are too much like proper ladies and Astrid hates the South. She hates the South mainly because of Mordane who claimed that the North was full of savages and uneducated lords. Astrid is an example of a true northern and believes fully in the North and in similar to Northern Lords who look down on the South as cravens. Also about why Astrid is good at Swordplay, Astrid is aged 15 while Robb is 16 in this book and Sansa is 14. So Astrid has had training in how to use a sword. Hope that clears thing up. Now I have a better idea of where this story is going to go and this will be one of my bloodiest and darkest stories as you will see later on.**


	5. Life in the city:

**Life in the City:**

A few weeks later, the King and his party finally arrived at the capital city of King's Landing. The city which was built where Aegon I landed during his invasion of Westeros. Eddard Stark rode with his daughters and Household to the Tower of the Hand where they found a Royal Steward waiting for them. Astrid and Arya stayed as far away from Sansa as they could, they were still quite angry that Sansa had lied which had nearly gotten their Direwolves killed. The Starks were meant to be honourable people but Sansa just lied so she could be in the Prince's favour. Astrid and Arya rode on their horses while Sansa was on a cart with Septa Mordane

"Welcome Lord Stark" The Steward greeted "Grand Maester Pycelle has called a meeting of the Small Council. The Honour of your presence is requested."

Eddard turned to his guards "Get the girls settled in, I'll be back in time for supper. Jory go with them" he said to Jory Cassel

"Yes my lord" Jory said

Eddard then followed the Steward into the Small Council Chambers "Lord Stark" A bald headed man greeted him

"Lord Varys" Eddard greeted back towards the Master of Whisperers and the former Master of Whisperers for the Mad King who kept his position after the Fall of the Targaryens.

"I'm sorry to hear about your troubles on the Kingsroad." Varys said back "We are all praying for Prince Joffrey's recovery."

"You should save your prayers for someone who deserves them" Eddard said and then he went to sit down and he ran into another familiar face "Lord Renly" he said as he embraced someone "You're looking well."

Renly Baratheon was King Robert's Youngest brother "And you look tired from the road" Renly said "I told them this meeting could wait another day but..."

"But we have a kingdom to run." Someone said and Eddard turned to see a sly looking man which he knew as Petyr Baelish, the master of coin and an old childhood friend of his wife "I've hoped to meet you for some time lord Stark, no doubt Lady Catelyn has mentioned you."

"She has Lord Baelish" Eddard said "I also heard you knew my brother Brandon as well."

"All too well" Baelish laughed "I still carry a token of his esteem, from navel to collar bone." He held up his right hand which was missing two fingers.

"Perhaps you choose the wrong man to Duel" Eddard suggested

"It wasn't the man that I choose my lord." Baelish said "It was the lady Catelyn Tully. A woman worth fighting for as I'm sure you'd agree."

While Eddard looked at him, the man next to him which was an old man with a long white beard spoke up "I humbly beg your pardon Lord Stark" he said

Eddard smiled at him "Grand Maester." He greeted

"How many years has it been?" Pycelle spoke up "The last time we met you were a young man."

"And you served a different King" Eddard said back

"Oh, how forgetful of me" Pycelle said as he reached into his back pocket "But this now belongs to you now." It was the badge of the Hand of the King which was placed into Eddard's hand "Shall we begin."

Eddard looked a bit confused "Without the King?" he questioned

"Winter may be coming but I'm afraid the same cannot be said about my brother." Renly said

Varys huffed "His Grace has many care but he interests some small matters that we lighten the load."

Eddard then sat down and then he unrolled a scroll "My brother inists we stage a tournament to celebrate Lord Starks appointment as Hand of the King."

"How much?" Varys asked

"40,000 Gold Dragons to the champion. 20,000 to the runner up, 20,000 to the winner of the Melee, 10,000 to the winning archer." Eddard read of the scroll.

"Can the treasury bear such expense?" Pycelle asked

"The Treasury is empty" Baelish said "I'll have to borrow it the Lannister will do it. We already own Tywin Lannister 3 million Gold Dragons plus another 90,000..."

Eddard interrupted him "Are you telling me the crown is 3 million in debt?"

"I'm telling you the crown is 6 million in debt." Baelish said "We own Tywin 3 million Gold Dragons. 2 million to the Iron Bank of Bravos plus money to the faith and Tyroshi traders."

"How could you let this happen?" Eddard snapped

"The Master of coin finds money the King and the Hand spend it." Baelish spoke

"I won't believe that Lord Arryn allowed King Robert to bankrupt the realm" Eddard hissed

"Lord Arryn gave wise words to the King" Pycelle said "But I fear the King never listens."

"Counting coppers he calls it" Renly added

Eddard sighed "I will speak to the King" he said "This tournament is something we cannot afford.

"As you will" Baelish spoke "We best make plans."

"There will be no plans until I speak with the King!" Eddard snapped and then he sighed "Forgive me my lords it's been a long ride."

"You are the King's Hand Lord Stark" Varys spoke "We serve at your pleasure."

...

Later Eddard made his way back to his family's living quarters but unknown to him, his daughters were ready to start a fight again. Arya, Astrid and Sansa were sat at the table while Septa Mordane sat near them. Arya was stabbing the table with a dagger while Mordane and Sansa looked shocked. Astrid was glaring at Sansa and Mordane.

"Enough of that young lady" Mordane snapped "Eat your food."

"I'm practicing" Arya snapped back

"For what?" Astrid asked

"For Prince Joffrey" Arya hissed

"Arya Stark!" Mordane gasped

"He's a liar and a coward!" Arya snapped "And he killed my friend"

"The Hound Killed your friend" Sansa snorted as she tried to defend her Prince Joffrey

"The Hound does whatever that Prick tell him to do" Astrid snapped "What are you defending him, he doesn't love you, he only cares about himself."

"You're an idiot!" Sansa hissed "He's my golden lion."

"You're a liar!" Arya snapped "And if you had told the true Mycah would still be alive."

"She's right!" Astrid snapped "You are a liar Sansa. This world is not a fairytale, there are no princes coming to rescue ladies in distress. You by lying you have broken any trust we have for you. You nearly got our Direwolves killed." She indicated to Huntress who was eating some meat that Astrid had given her.

"What's going on here?" Eddard demanded as he walked in

"Arya would rather act like a beast that a lady" Mordane reported

She jumped when she heard a loud bark and the sound of a chair falling. Mordane turned to see Huntress snarling at her and Astrid had stood up so fast that she had knocked her chair over. She glared at Mordane "If you speak about Arya like that again, I'll let Huntress bite you a few times and then I will throw you in the stables and you won't ever set foot near my sister again. You may even lose a hand or your tongue, Arya Stark is my sister and you will not speak of her like that, she is a Northern, not a silly southern flower like you, this will be the last time I warn you of this, next time I will be much harsher." Astrid drew her dagger and pushed it against her face and then pulled it back to show how serious she was

Mordane and Sansa looked at her shocked that she had placed a dagger to Septa Mordane, it was known that Astrid would love to have Mordane thrown from the Stark's service but then Eddard stepped in before things got out of hand. "Astrid, would you take Arya to her room, I need to speak to her alone."

Astrid nodded and then she left with Arya leaving her father with Sansa and Mordane.

...

Meanwhile over in the royal chambers of the royal family. Prince Joffrey was with his mother Queen Cersei as Cersei dabbed Joffrey's wolf bite wounds with a cold cloth. Cersei was beyond angry that her son had been wounded and Joffrey had been moaning about it. She was cross that the Starks had not been punished but her husband said that Joffrey should have thought before he attacked the Stark girl and that his wounds will serve as a lesson. The oldest Stark Girl Astrid was proving to be very aggressive and it was clear that Astrid did not care about the family. Her Direwolf kept growling whenever Joffrey was near and Cersei couldn't do anything about it as the Direwolf would react hard and could easily bite her son. Astrid had threatened that if Joffrey did anything then her Direwolf would bite and this time it would be worse that last time.

"It's ugly" Joffrey complained

"A King should have scars" Cersei smiled as she tried to keep her sons cheers up "You will be King one day and a warrior like your father."

"I'm not like my father" Joffrey snorted "I've never fought in battle and I could not defeat a wolf. That oldest Stark Girl humiliated me in the North and now she threatens me."

"When Aerys Targaryen sat on the Iron Throne your father was nothing more than a Rebel and a Traitor." Cersei said to him "Someday you will sit on the Iron Throne and the truth will be what you make it. But you must be careful around that Stark Girl, it is clear that she doesn't care what happens but if anyone hurts her family then she will react."

"We allow the Northerns too much power" Joffrey snorted "They consider themselves our equals"

"Then what would you do about it?" Cersei asked

"I'd double their taxes and have them supply 10,000 men for the royal army" Joffrey considered

"The royal army?" Cersei questioned

"A King should have an army of his own instead of depending on his lords lower than him" Joffrey snorted

"And if the Northerns Rebel?" Cersei questioned "What would you do then?"

"I'll crush them" Joffrey said proudly "I'll seize Winterfell and install someone loyal as Warden of the North, uncle Kevan maybe."

"And these 10,000 Northmen, will they fight for you or the North?" Cersei countered

"For me, I am there King" Joffrey snorted

Cersei sighed "You're just asking them to invade their home" she countered

"I'm not asking, I am the King, they will obey my orders" Joffrey sneered

"If the North is like that Oldest Stark Girl then they may just rebel and overthrow you" Cersei countered "The North cannot be held not by an outsider it's too big and too wild. No army from the South has ever taken the North when the Winters come the Seven Gods put together couldn't save you or your army. A good King knows where to save his strength and to destroy his enemies."

Joffrey smirked "So you agree, the Starks are enemies"

"Anyone who isn't one of us is an enemy" Cersei smirked "You let me handle the Starks."

"All right, but when I am King I want that Oldest Stark held here, I want to see what it takes to break her."

...

Meanwhile back in the Stark Chambers, Arya was now in her room. Astrid had brought Arya to her room and then she left to her own chambers leaving Arya alone. Arya was quite annoyed at Sansa who was acting like she would be queen and only cared about being queen. Arya then drew her sword, Needle from her scabbard. This was the rapier sword that Jon had given to her before she had left Winterfell with her family. Then she heard a knock at her door and she groaned, she really didn't want to see anyone right now because of the mood she was in.

"Go away" Arya snapped angrily.

"Arya, open the door" the voice of her father came and Arya panicked as she thought it was Septa Mordane and she really did not care for her. Now she was worried that her dad would be cross so she quickly went to open the door and she saw her father in the doorway.

"May I come in" he asked and he entered the room and then closed her door, when he turned around, he saw the sword that Arya was holding "whose sword is that?"

Arya widened her eyes, she had forgotten that she was holding it and now she was worried that her father would take it off her "It's mine" she answered

"Give it to me" Eddard ordered and Arya sighed and reluctantly handed the sword over to him and then he eyed the blade and he recognised the maker of the sword "I know this Maker's mark this is Mikken's work" he added, Mikken was the Blacksmith at Winterfell and he made the Stark men of Winterfell's weapons and armour as well as the blades of House Stark. Eddard then looked at her "Where did you get this?" Arya said nothing and Eddard sighed "This is no toy" he then sat down on Arya's bed "Little ladies should play with swords"

"I wasn't playing!" Arya snapped "and I don't want to be a lady, I want to be a Northern Warrior like Astrid."

"Come here" Eddard sighed as he patted the space next to him and Arya sat down next to her father "Now what do you want with this?"

"It's called Needle" Arya replied

Eddard laughed "A blade with a name. And who were you going to skewer with Needle, your sister? Do you know the First thing about Sword fighting?"

"Stick them with the pointy end" Arya smiled and Eddard chucked "I was trying to learn. I asked Mycah to practice with me. It was my fault he's dead."

"No" Eddard cooed "You did not kill the butcher's boy"

Arya then glared at the floor "I hate them!" she spat as her eyes began to fill with tears "I hate all of them, the Hound, the Queen and the King. And Joffrey and Sansa"

"Sansa was dragged before the Queen and asked to call her betrothed the Prince a Liar" Eddard tried to reassure her that Sansa had no choice

"So was I, he is a Liar" Arya snapped "He tried to hurt Astrid, he nearly got our beloved Direwolves killed. He's a Liar and a coward, Astrid says that a boy like that shouldn't be king and that he would only bring ruin."

"Shhh" Eddard said calmly "Listen to me, Sansa will be married to Joffrey someday, she cannot betray him, she must take his side even if he's wrong."

"How can you make her marry someone like that?" Arya scoffed "All he cares about is himself, I doubt he even truly loves Sansa."

Eddard sighed "Look at me" he commanded "You're a Stark of Winterfell, you know our words"

"Winter is Coming" Arya answered

"You were born in the Long Summer, you've never known anything else" Eddard spoke to her "But now winter truly is coming and in the winter, we must protect ourselves, look after one another. Sansa is your sister."

"I don't hate her, not really" Arya admitted "I just wished she would wake up to the real world and stop believing in fairy tales and dream Princes, Astrid drew out of that a long time ago."

Eddard sighed "I don't want to frighten you, but we have come to a dangerous place. We cannot fight a war between ourselves. I will not lie to you but I am worried about Astrid, she has what my family would call Wolf's blood. Both my older brother Brandon and sister Lyanna had it. Lyanna was stubborn and she had a wild attitude and Brandon was hot bloodied and easy to anger. The Wolf's Blood brought both of them to an early grave. Some people admired Lyanna for her wild attitude and she was kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. When Brandon heard the news he rode for King's Landing and demanded Rhaegar come out and face him, that got him killed and Lyanna died in the Tower of Joy. The Wolf's Blood brought both of them to an early grave and I've always been worried that this Wolf's Blood might take Astrid to an early grave. I would never have brought her south but she may be the only one who can protect us." Eddard then handed Arya Needle "Here's it's yours"

"You mean I can keep it?" Arya gasped

"I will speak to Astrid" Eddard said to her "She can help train you so you can use a sword yourself." And then he started to leave the room "Try not to stab your sister with it"

...

Meanwhile, Astrid was back over in her room. Her room look like a typical Southern chamber with beds with comfortable cloths to lie in and fine wooden furniture. She had a bookshelf that had several books on. Astrid did love to read but not stories about Princes saving ladies in danger. She preferred old legends and history like the Stark's conquering the Northern Houses one by one and how they were able to beat back the Andals during the Andal Invasion. One of her favourite legends was Theon the Hungry Wolf. The King in the North during the Andal invasion who was called the Hungry Wolf since he spent most of his life fighting. He fought against the Wildlings from beyond the Wall, Ironborn raiding from the West and the Andals from the East and South. She had read about how Theon had defeated the Andal Warlord Argos Sevenstar at the Battle of the Weeping Water and then had his body mounted onto his ship and he sailed to Essos where he burned Andal villages killing hundreds of Andals and captured three tower houses and a fortified sept amd he displayed the heads of those he killed along his shores as a warning to other Andals. He later invaded the Three Sisters and defeated rebels in the Rills and defeat the Ironborn warrior Ravos the Raper and expelled the Ironborn. Astrid saw Theon Stark as one of her heroes.

Then she heard a knock at the door "Who is it?" she asked

"Astrid, I need to speak with you" the voice of her father called from the other side of the door. Astrid then went over and opened the door and her father was there "I'm not interrupting am I"

"No, there isn't much I was doing here" Astrid sighed "This place really is not the type of place I would like to live. The beds may be comfortable but I'm not use to them. I prefer the cold winds of the North that the heat of the South."

"Well there is something I wanted to talk to you about" Eddard said to her "I will not lie to you but we are in a dangerous place. You have to be careful about how you act, I'm worried that you will make the wrong move and you will end up in danger. The Lannisters are not to be messed with."

"As long as they don't mess with my family then I won't mess with them" Astrid hissed "If they hurt my family in any way then I will make sure they learn."

Eddard sighed, there was no arguing with her "Listen; there is something else I need to speak to you about. Arya really wants to learn how to fight and after what happened with the Prince, maybe she needs to learn how to defend herself. I was hoping that you would be willing to teach her how to fight."

Astrid smiled "Well it's about time that Arya wants to learn how to fight. There's more to it than just stabbing, being a good warrior mean practising and calculating your opponents. Yes, I will teach her how to wield a sword and defend herself."

Eddard smiled and then he began to leave the chambers and he looked at her one last time "Just promise me that you will be careful around the city. You must watch out for what happens here in the city."

Astrid then watched as her father left the room. She smirked as now she was going to show Arya how to fight properly. This was what Arya had wanted to be, a Northern Warrior like the Mormonts who also had girls fight and if Septa Mordane tried to stop her, then maybe she would finally have the excuses she needed to get rid of her. "Okay Arya" she said to herself, "Let's see if you have what it takes to be a Northern Warrior."

 **Chapter end:  
Notes: Sorry for the Month wait but I was concentrating on my other stories. I have finally gotten this chapter done but for the next few chapters, there won't be much action until the arrest of Eddard Stark that the story will have a few dark scenes in it. I plan to work on the next chapter of Dragon-X and the Divine Empire next as well as my Fictionpress story.**


	6. Training and a Tournament:

**Training and a Tournament:**

Arya Stark walked through the corridors of the Stark House that had been given to the Stark family. She grinned as her sister Astrid had agreed to teach her the ways of swordplay and she was looking forward to learning how to wield a sword. Astrid knew what she was doing as she had sparred with her brothers as well as other boys at Winterfell behind their mother's back, until their falling out and then she practised swordplay openly and never went to the Septa's lessons again. Arya was not wearing a dress and wore boy's clothes which were a tunic.

Arya soon found her sister Astrid down in a large open room where she held two wooden swords and she was dressed in a set of leather armour and her long hair had been tied up in a bun so it wouldn't get in her face. "So sister, you want to learn swordplay?" Astrid asked and Arya nodded eagerly

"I never wanted to be a lady" she said "I wanted to be like you and I want to be a warrior woman like Queen Nymeria, she was one of my heroes"

Astrid smiled at her sister "Do you know the first thing about swordplay?" she asked

"Stick them with the pointy end" Arya revealed which made Astrid laugh and Arya's smile turned into a frown.

"There's more to it than that" Astrid revealed "That small sword Jon gave you is known as a Rapier" Arya had shown Astrid her sword known as Needle during their travels along the Kingsroad "That would be no good for a proper warrior in sword fighting as you won't damage the armour of your enemies. It might get through the gaps in chainmail but a good strong swing from a strong Swordsman will break that Rapier. That sword is more useful in duelling."

"So what will I learn then?" Arya asked

Astrid smiled "Learning swordplay takes time Arya" she smiled "You can't learn this in one day but as you train more, the better you will become. First I will teach you how to block" she then threw a wooden sword to Arya who tried to catch it but she dropped it "You must know who keep hold of your sword"

Arya tried to lift the sword but she had never lifted this much weight as this sword may only be made from wood but it was still heavy, it was heavier than needle "This sword is heavy" Arya complained

"A real sword will be even heavier" Astrid revealed "The more you practise with that, the stronger you will become and then you will be able to lift a proper sword. We will train with wooden swords and then we will train with blunt tourney swords so you get used to the weight" Arya smiled at her "Now I want you to start hitting me with your sword, don't worry, I know what I'm doing, I just need to show you something" Arya looked at her and then she began swinging her wooden sword at Astrid. But Astrid kept moving her wooden sword and blocked her every move until the two wooden swords became locked together and then Arya thrust forward and knocked her sword out of Arya's hands. Arya stared at her as Astrid explained "That is what happens when you just swing your sword carelessly at your enemies. A good swordsman is able to block every move and eventually you get tired and your enemy knocks your sword out of your hands."

"So how I defend myself?" Arya asked

"You hold your sword so it's protecting you" Astrid claimed and she held her sword with the blade facing upwards "This will block attacks coming from the sides but won't do much for attacks coming downwards." Then Astrid turned the blade so the blade was facing sideways "The will block attacks coming downwards but if you hold it like this for too long then you will drop it" Then Astrid turned the blade again so the blade was up in a diagonal shape "That's why I prefer to hold my blade like this, it blocks attacks and you can't drop it as easily." Then over the day, Astrid taught Arya about how to block enemy attacks and then showed her a few tricks on countering her enemies moves such as pushing back to stun her enemy for a second and hitting then on the head with the hilt. Arya smiled all through her training and she wanted to learn more. All throughout the training, the girl's father, Eddard Stark watched from the sides and he smiled at his daughter's happiness.

…

A few days later, Eddard was returning from his day at the small council. He had tried to talk to the King about trying to cut down on the Tourney to celebrate his appointment as Hand of the King. Eddard felt like the Tourney wasn't needed and he had tried to talk to the King about not holding the Tourney but Robert wouldn't listen, he wanted the Tourney which meant that they were going to go even deeper in debt which Eddard didn't like the idea of. The Iron Throne was in debt to the Lannisters, the Iron Bank and some smaller things like Tyrosh investors, the Tyrells and the Faith. The Lannisters were nothing but trouble as he still hated Tywin Lannister for ordering the deaths of Elia Martell and her children which he saw as murder, if the Throne was in debt then the Lannisters could force the King to do what they want. The Faith was just as bad as they could have the Faith Militant rebuilt for their debt and this Faith Militant would only cause violence throughout the Westeros. But Eddard was most worried about the Iron Bank of Braavos. If the Iron Throne could not pay the Iron Bank then they would fund the Throne's enemies, one way or another, they always get their gold back.

As Eddard walked back to his office, he came inti the courtyard of the House where he saw his daughter Arya holding a wooden sword in defending positions. Eddard smiled and he remembered the time when he watched the Master of Arms, Rodrik Cassel train his sons to use swords and he remembered his younger years when he trained with his brothers Brandon and Benjen. "What are you doing?" Eddard asked his daughter and then Arya jumped in shock and swung around and pointed the wooden sword at Arya which made him laugh.

Arya sighed and he lowered the sword "Sorry father, you just scared me"

Eddard laughed "I see you've been practising" he grinned

Arya smiled "Astrid is showing me everything she knows about swordplay." Then she looked at her father "I heard the guards talking earlier, they saw that Bran has woken up" Eddard nodded, he had received the message that Brandon had woken up and the Arya continued "They say that he will never walk again, is that true"

Eddard sighed "I'm afraid so, his spine was broken so he won't feel anything in his legs" he admitted

"He wanted to join the Kingsguard" Arya said as he remembered Bran talking about his dreams of one day joining the Kingsguard. "That's not possible now"

Eddard sighed "No" he said "But there are other things he can do. He can train to be a Maester, sit on the King's small council. He could even become lord of a holdfast"

Arya smiled at him "Could I be lord of a holdfast?" she asked

Eddard laughed and he looked at them "You Arya Stark, are going to be a lady like your sister, you will marry a handsome Knight and your children will be knights and ladies." He teased even though he knew that she would never accept that.

Arya's smile fell "No" she said "That is not me" she then got up and carried on holding her wooden sword in defensive positions.

…

A few days later, Eddard was back in his office, though he wasn't the only one. His wife Catelyn and the Master of Arms of Winterfell, Rodrik was there as well. The two of them had arrived in King's Landing and Eddard had been shocked when he had found her. Catelyn had explained everything about the attempted murder of Brandon and he had brought the dagger that had been used to try and kill him. The dagger was of fine quality, a Valyrian Steel blade and dragonbone handle. They had been to one of Catelyn's old friend, Petyr Baelish's brothels where he had explained that the dagger had been his but he had lost it in a bet with Tyrion Lannister during a Tourney on Prince Joffrey's name day. Catelyn now believed that Tyrion Lannister had ordered the Assassination attempt on her son's life and she wanted him to pay. Eddard warned her to be careful in case she plunged the realm into a war. Now Catelyn was about to leave but she had one last thing to say.

"Ned, I need to talk to you about our daughters" she said which made Eddard sigh as he knew where this was going "Ned, I saw Astrid and Arya fighting each other with wooden swords. That is not how I raised them, you have to put a stop to this."

Eddard sighed "There's nothing I can do to stop it" he sighed "Arya refuses to be a lady and there's nothing I can do with Astrid. She will never try to be a lady and both would rather be warrior women. Neither of them care about the Seven and they are from the North, they believe in the Old Gods of the North. Even if I tried to stop it, Astrid would train Arya in secret."

"Maybe I can talk to them" Catelyn suggested "Maybe I can convince them that this is not how they should act"

"I doubt Astrid will want to speak to you." Eddard sighed "She loves her family but she has a dislike of you. She still has not forgiven you for trying to force her to be a lady like you wanted. They have their own minds, it is up to them to make their own paths, and you can't force them to be something that they are not. Their Relationship with Sansa is falling apart fast, they are angered by Sansa lying to defend the Prince."

"She did what a lady should do when she is betrothed" Catelyn argued

"That's not how they see it" Eddard hissed "They saw it as betraying her family to defend a man who attacked them. They both hate the Prince and I have to keep a close eye on Astrid to make sure she doesn't try to kill the Prince in the name of her family. She will fight to defend the Stark name and to her, Joffrey is an enemy. We have to be careful."

"I just wish I could speak to the girls" Catelyn said

"Then they would know that you are here" Eddard said "There are spies everywhere" he then kissed his wife on the lips "Safe travels" he said and the he watched as Catelyn and Rodrik got on two horses and then they left.

…

A few days later, it was the first day of the Tourney of the Hand, not like Eddard liked the idea. He had been in a small council Meeting with Janos Slynt, the Commander of the Gold Cloaks, the city watch of King's Landing, called the Gold Cloaks due to their golden cloaks, he had claimed that for every Knight that came to King's Landing. He said that for every Knight arriving at the Tourney, they received 2 free riders, 6 men at arms, a dozen merchants, three craftsmen and plenty of Thieves. He also listen crimes such as robberies, a drowning, rapes, stabbings and a drunken Horse race. Eddard had lent Janos fifty of his men to help keep order but his position as Hand of the King was proving to be stressful. He had also taken a book from Grand Maester Pycelle which was the last book that Jon Arryn had read. The book of lineages of the Great Houses of Westeros. This book was old and it listened every lord of the great houses and Jon Arryn had some sort of interest in this book.

But now it was the first day of the Tourney and many houses had gathered. Sansa smiled as she looked at all of the banners of different houses of the South. The North had very simple sigils such as the wolf for House Stark, the mailed fist for House Glover, the Chains of House Umber, the white sunburst of House Karstark and the flayed man of House Bolton. Here Sansa could see many sigils of many houses both small and large including House Tyrell, House Redwyne, House Frey, House Mallister, House Swann, House Caron and House Dondarrion. The First day of the Tourney would be the Jousting and then the finals would be held on the second day along with the Archery completion and the Melee.

"The Tyrell looks lovely" Sansa said as she looked at the Golden rose of House Tyrell on a green field on one of the banners.

"The Swyft one looks stupid" Arya snorted as she looked at the banner of House Swyft which was a Roaster on a yellow background "Who picks a chicken as a sigil"

"It's a roaster" Sansa hissed at her.

"Not now you two!" Astrid sighed

Then Sans looked up to the royal box and smiled at Prince Joffrey but he just looked away which made Sansa sigh. "Lover's quarrel?" a voice asked and Sansa turned around to see a sly looking man with think black hair and beard.

Sansa looked confused at the man "I'm sorry do I know you?" she had no idea who this man was but he knew her apparently

"Sansa, this is Lord Petyr Baelish" Septa Mordane introduced "He's...

"An old friend of your family" Petyr finished "I've known your mother for a long time"

Arya then looked at him "Why do they call you littlefinger?" she asked as she wondered why someone would have a name like that

"Arya!" Sansa gasped

"Don't be rude!" Septa Mordane snapped but was then faced with a glare from Astrid that said 'watch it'

Petyr Baelish laughed "No it's alright" he chucked "You see as a boy I was very small, and I come from a little piece of land called the Fingers. It's quite a clever nickname"

Astrid meanwhile just narrowed her eyes at this man, she didn't like his sly look and it was clear that this man was hiding dark intentions so there was no way that Astrid would trust him.

Then everyone was interrupted by King Robert who stood up from his seat and shouted out "I've been sitting here for days!" he growled "Start the damn Joust before I piss myself!" then he sat back down while Queen Cersei stood up and moved away from him.

Then the first round of the Jousting began and Sansa watched as a massive man riding a black horse and clad in thick black armour rode onto the field, his horse rode like thunder and Sansa gasped at how huge the man was "Gods, who is that"

Baelish looked at the man "Ser Gregor Clegane, they call him the Mountain, the Hound's older brother" he replied. Ser Gregor rode up next to another Knight who was clad in silver armour but his helmet would not protect his neck.

"And who is his opponent?" Sansa asked

"Ser Hugh of the Vale" Baelish answered as Ser Hugh lifted his visor "He was Jon Arryn's squire, look how far he's come"

Both Hugh and Gregor then gave a slight bow which only mad King Robert grumble "Yes enough with the bloody pout, have at him" he commanded and then Hugh and Gregor rode to different parts of the Tourney field where a squire handed them their shields, Gregor's was yellow with three black snarling dogs while Hugh's was blue with a white falcon. The two knights pointed their lances at each other and then sent their horses galloping at each other. The first hit struck their shields and nothing happened. But then on the 2nd tilt, Gregor's lance struck Ser Hugh on the neck where he wasn't protected. Sansa and her friend Jeyne Poole screamed in horror and many of the guests gasped as Ser Hugh fell from his horse he had a piece of the lance lodged in his throat, Ser Hugh coughed up blood as he chocked and then he died. Then his body was taken away to be prepared. Jeyne Poole was crying at the fallen night which caused Septa Mordane to take her away.

Then the rest of the Tourney went on without many incidents. Several of Winterfell's men had joined in the Tourney and their armour was nothing compared to the other Knights. Jory Cassel managed to defeat Horus Redwyne and a Knight of House Frey before he jousted against Ser Lothor Brune and after 3 tilts, Lothor was awarded victory. The other men of Winterfell did no better with Harwin being defeated by Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard and Alyn being defeated by Ser Balon Swann. The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Barristan Selmy defeated 2 riders being losing to Jaime Lannister who had already defeated Ser Andar Royce and Lord Bryce Caron. Gregor Clegane then defeated another knight along with Balon Swann but luckily there were no deaths. Lord Renly Baratheon was then defeated by Gregor's brother Sandor Clegane. Lord Beric Dondarrion defeated a Hedge Knight in a checked cloak who disgraced himself after killing his horse then Beric was defeated by the Red Priest Thoros of Myr. Lothor Brune jousted against the Master of Arms for the Red Keep, Ser Aron Santagar but the Joust ended in a draw though Ser Aron was later defeated by Ser Jason Mallister and Lothor Brune was defeated by Ser Robar Royce. But one of the most favourites of the Tourney was Ser Loras Tyrell, called the Knight of the Flowers since his armour was decorated with flowers. Ser Loras was indeed hansom and many ladies awed as he rode his horse. Ser Loras defeated Ser Meryn Trant along with Preston Greenfield and Boros Blount of the Kingsguard along with Robar Royce. At the end of the day, only four Knights remained, Sandor Clegane, Jaime Lannister, Loras Tyrell and Gregor Clegane, they would be in the finals the next day but now there would be a feast in the Red Keep.

...

The next day, Astrid and Arya had decided that they did not want to go and watch the rest of the Tourney. Astrid had ended up in another argument with Sansa when she had yelled at Astrid when Astrid had called the Tourney boring and did not show proper warriors like the Great Melees of the North. The argument ended before it got physical but Astrid didn't come to the Feast that night. Now Astrid and Arya were training again and this time, Astrid showed her a few tricks of attacking and started with thrusting a sword forward and showed her the weak spots on her enemies and showed how to kill an enemy quick by stabbing an enemy in the heart without getting the sword stuck in the ribs. When the training had ended, Arya wanted to ask her sister something.

"Astrid" she said "Is it true that you hate us?"

Astrid looked shocked at the question "Now why would I hate you" she gaped "I love my family and I would do anything to protect my family"

"It's just after you stormed off after your argument with Sansa yesterday, she said that you hated our family especially her and mother" Arya claimed

Astrid sighed "I don't hate mother or Sansa" she admitted "Not really, I just don't like the way they think. Years ago I was just like your sister, loving stories of legendary Knights in the South and of handsome Princes saving damsels in distress. But that all changed when I saw the truth about the South. Years ago father took me South once to meet with the King. I saw how corrupt the city was and I actually snuck out of the Red Keep and I saw how life really was in the South. I saw corrupt Septons taking money from the desperate claiming it in the name of the Seven and then they spent that money on fancy robes. I also learnt about what happened to the Targaryen children and how the murderers weren't punished. That day was the day I learnt that the stories of Knights and Princes were just fairytales and there was not how life worked. So I swore that I would no longer be that girl anymore and I started training how to use a sword. Then I saw Septa Mordane being rude about the North and so I starting going to her lessons less often until I stopped going entirely. That's why I don't like Sansa because she sees everything as a dream. And I don't like mother's idea of having us act like Southern Ladies when we are of the North. Northern women fight to protect their families and that's what I want to be. I will fight to defend my family from people who threaten it which includes the Queen and the Crown Prince"

"Then I will stand by your side and help protect our family" Arya said which made Astrid smile and they soon began training again.

...

Back at the Tourney field, Eddard sat with Sansa but noticed that Arya and Astrid were missing. He had just had a talk with Ser Barristan Selmy about the dead Ser Hugh of the Vale. He had been a squire until a few months ago and wondered how he had a new suit of armour. Barristan thought that Jon Arryn left him some money and then Eddard had talked with King Robert and been able to convince him not to take part in the Tourney. The night before during the Feast, the King and Queen had been in another argument when Queen Cersei tried to stop Robert from taking part but Robert refused to listen. But now Eddard had managed to convince the King not to take part by saying that his opponents would let him win.

Eddard sat with his daughter Sansa along with Septa Mordane and they watched as the Hound jousted against Ser Jaime Lannister and won which meant that he was now in the finals and he would face the victor of the next match, Ser Loras Tyrell vs Ser Gregor Clegane.

Eddard then noticed that Astrid and Arya were missing "Hey, where are your sisters?" Eddard asked

"They're training" Sansa replied simply and then smiled as she saw Loras Tyrell ride on his horse with a bright red rose in his hands "The knight of the flowers" she said and then Loras rode up to her and handed her the rose "Thank you Ser Loras" then Loras rode off to his side of the field while Gregor rode to the other. Sansa hugged her father in fear "Don't let Ser Gregor hurt him" she begged "I can't watch, he's going to die"

"Hey" Eddard confronted her "Ser Loras rides well"

Behind them, Petyr Baelish and Lord Renly Baratheon placed bets in the Joust "A hundred gold dragons on the Mountain" Baelish said

"I'll take that bet" Renly replied

Baelish then smiled "Now what will I do with a hundred gold dragons?" he asked himself "A dozen barrels of Dornish wine, or a girl from the Pleasure Houses of Lys"

Renly smirked "Maybe you could buy a friend" he sneered which made a few people laugh

Then Loras and Gregor rode their horse at each other but when Loras' lance hit Gregor's shield, his horse fell over and broke the fence which made everyone laugh "Such a shame Littlefinger" Renly laughed "It would have been so nice for you to have a friend"

Baelish looked at him and sneered "And tell me Lord Renly, when will you be having your friend" he pointed towards Loras which made Renly look worried since he was a homosexual and had been in a relationship with Loras Tyrell who had been his squire. Baelish then spoke to Sansa "Ser Loras knew that his mare was in Heat, a very clever trick"

Sansa scoffed "Ser Loras wouldn't do that" she snorted "There's no honour in tricks"

"No honour an quite a lot of gold" Littlefinger claimed

But then they were interrupted but gasps of horror as Gregor took his huge Greatsword and then chopped the head off his horse and he stormed over to Loras in anger and pulled him off his horse and tried to kill him until Sandor Clegane stepped in.

"Stop this madness in the name of your King!" King Robert bellowed and then Gregor stormed off in anger.

Loras looked at Sandor in gratitude "I owe you my life Ser"

"I'm no Ser!" Sandor snapped at him since he had a dislike of knights because of his brother. Loras was meant to fight Sandor in the final round of the Jousting but instead Loras took Sandor's arm and held it up showing that he was giving him the reward for the Tourney and Sandor Clegane won the Tourney.

Then it was time for the Melee. This was many different fighters all to fight each other until one was left standing. The North had great Melees though they were on a bigger scale and often more violent which left people injured. The fight was vicious but the winner of the Melee was the Red Priest Thoros of Myr who wielding a sword on fire. Eddard remembered seeing Thoros during the siege of Pyke during the Greyjoy Rebellion and he had been one of the first soldiers to go through the walls of Pyke when the walls fell. The Archery completion was next and Balon Swann took part but the winner of the Archery completion was a common man known as Anguy from the Dornish Marches. At the end of the day, the Tourney was over which meant that Eddard could now carry on his investigation into how the former Hand of the King, Jon Arryn died but he was starting to see a conspiracy taking place in the city and now he was worried for both the King's safety and his families.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Another chapter done and now we will soon be getting to the darker parts of this story. I also explained Astrid's personality here.**


	7. Tensions Rise

**Tensions Rise:**

It hadn't been that long since the Tourney of the Hand and Eddard was glad that it was over. Now he might finally try and do his duties as Hand of the King. He was not use to the plots of the South and he had learnt from Littlefinger that the Queen had spies everywhere along with Littlefinger and Varys the Spider. Many of the important people had spies which spied on people who called them enemies. In the North, there was none of this spy business where the lords spied on each other though there were lords that hated each other.

Right now, Eddard was in his office as Hand of the King as he tried read through some papers. Varys the Spider was also in the room "How is your son my lord?" he asked as he closed a shutter on a window

"He'll never walk again" Eddard replied as he signed some papers. He had a lot of work to do since King Robert didn't do anything as King. A large tome also sat on his desk, it was a book he had gotten from Grand Maester Pycelle, this book had been read by Jon Arryn before he died and Eddard thought that it might explain why he had died. He feared that the Lannisters would have something to do with his death and there might be something in this book which showed that Jon Arryn knew something that would get him killed.

"But his mind is sound" Varys added

Eddard sighed as he looked up from his work "So they say" he stated

Varys closed the other shutter "A blessing then" he said "I suffered mutilation myself" he looked at Jory as he closed the door to Eddard's office "Some doors close forever, others open in most unexpected places" he then pointed to a seat "May I?"

Eddard sighed and nodded, he was getting annoyed with Varys' riddles. Varys then sat down on the chair opposite from him.

"If the wrong ears hear what I'm about to tell you" Varys claimed "Then off comes my head, and who would mourn poor Varys then. North or South, they sing no songs for Spiders. But there are things you must know, you are the King's Hand and the King is a fool. Your friend I know but a fool and doomed unless you save him."

Eddard was shocked at this; Varys was saying that there was a plot against King Robert "I have been Hand of the King for month" he hissed "Why have you waited so long to tell me."

"Because I did not trust you" Varys claimed

"So why do you trust me now?" Eddard demanded

"The Queen is not the only one who has been watching you closely" Varys answered "There are few men of honour in the capital and you are one of them. I would like to believe that I am another, strange as that may seem."

Eddard looked at Varys "What sort of doom does the King face?" he asked

"The same sort as Jon Arryn" Varys replied "The tears of Lys they call it. A rare and costly thing, a clear and tasteless as water it leaves no trace."

Eddard sighed as he stood up from his chair and went towards the balcony "Who gave it to him"

"Some dear friend no doubt but which one" Varys stated "He had many; Jon Arryn was a kind and trusting man. There was one boy; all he owes was to Jon Arryn"

Eddard turned around and looked at Varys; he knew who he was talking about "The Squire Ser Hugh?" he questioned

"Pity what happened to him" Varys claimed "Just when his life seemed to be going nicely. But he was knighted right after Jon Arryn died and he had the gold to buy the armour. Someone could have offered him that. And then he was killed in the Tourney, a good way to get rid of the evidence."

Eddard then wondered something "If Ser Hugh poisoned him, then who paid him?"

Varys shook his head which said that he did not know "Someone who could have afford it"

"Jon was a man of peace" Eddard hissed "He was Hand for seventeen years, seventeen good years. Why kill him?"

Varys looked at Eddard seriously "He started asking questions" he stated

...

Later, after his talk with Varys, Eddard decided he needed to see Astrid and talk to her. He found Astrid lying on her bed in her room as she was reading a book on the History of the Kings of Winter. Astrid had always been fond of the stories of the ancient Stark Kings and how they conquered the North but by bit.

Astrid turned when he heard her father enter the room and turned to see him "Moring father" she greeted

"Morning Astrid" Eddard greeted "You don't mind if I come in?"

"Come on in" Astrid said as she sat her on her bed and looked at her father. She could see a face of concern on his face "Is everything alright father?"

"I'm fine" Eddard replied "I've just got a lot on my mind and I fear for the King's Life."

"You fear the King is in danger!" Astrid gasped

"I have suspicions but no proof" Eddard replied "I'm starting to fear that the Lannisters are plotting something against the King"

Astrid looked at her father "Father, I may not know Tywin Lannister personally but knowing what he has done in the past, he won't take accusations like that kindly. I read what he did to Houses Reyne and Tarbeck. What he did was harsh but also necessary to bring order, he rebuilt House Lannister and will not allow what he's built to collapse because of accusations."

"Cat believes that the Lannisters are behind Bran's fall from the tower and also the attempt on his life when he was asleep" Eddard revealed "The dagger that was found on the assassin was an expensive dagger with a Valyrian steel blade and dragonbone handle."

"That is an expensive dagger" Astrid stated "But who did the dagger belong to."

"My wife's old friend Petyr Baelish claimed that the dagger was his but he lost it to a bet" Eddard replied "He said that he lost it to Tyrion Lannister"

"Tyrion Lannister?" Astrid questioned "I don't think Tyrion would have anything to do with Bran's fall, he was drunk after the feast, he was found in the stables passed out. And he has nothing against the Starks so why would he try to hurt Bran"

"I don't know but Catelyn believes that he was the one who sent the assassin after Bran" Eddard stated

"Then she better be careful" Astrid hissed "If anything happens to Tyrion then Tywin will attack the Riverlands. Then we will be on the brink of a Civil War."

"Then let's hope it doesn't come to that" Eddard sighed "By the way, where are your sisters?"

"Sansa with Septa Mordane doing needlework" Astrid replied "They keep talking about how Sansa must be when she marries Joffrey. Sansa was scared that she wouldn't be a great wife or queen and that she would only give birth to girls and no boys." Astrid then sighed "But she started getting a bit rude and arrogant. She doesn't seem to care for anyone but herself anymore. And Arya decided to go and do some exploring. She was a bit board so she wanted to explore the Keep"

"You allowed Arya to go off on her own?" Eddard hissed

"She'll be fine" Astrid replied "Arya can look after herself and I told her not to leave the Red Keep. I know that the city is not safe and that the city is full of beggars and thieves."

…

Arya had indeed on off to do some exploring. She had wanted to explore the secrets of the Red Keep. She had wandered down some stairs and she found herself in a dark room that only had a few small torches for light. She struggled to see properly but she gasped when something caught her eye. It was a large skull of a dragon and it was as big as a wagon and even bigger than that. The teeth were as long as swords and the jaws looked like they could swallow an auroch whole. Arya had read stories about the Targaryen dragons with Astrid and she believed that this must have been the skull of the largest of the Targaryen Dragons, Balarion the Black Dread. The dragon that had belonged to Aegon the Conqueror and was the largest of any dragon that lived, living to the age of 200 before dying of old age. Arya believed that this was Balarion or it could be the skull of Vhagar, the dragon that belonged to Aegon's sister Visenya. After Balarion died, Vhagar became the largest dragon and a veteran of fights and would die in the Dance of the Dragons civil war over the Gods Eyes. Vhagar's skull was recovered and brought back to the Red Keep.

Arya ran her fingers along the teeth of the dragon's skull but she heard voices and she hid inside the jaws of the skull to hide so she would not be seen. She heard two voices and she tried to see who it was though she couldn't see them properly but she saw that one had a bald head and the other one had an accent from Braavos. She tried to hear what they were saying but it was difficult to see.

"He's found one bastard already" the bald man said "He has the book, the rest will come"

"And when he knows the truth, what will he do?" The man with the accent asked

"The Gods alone know" the bald man stated "The fools tried to kill his son once and botched it. Soon the Wolf and the Lion will be at each other's throats and war will start"

"What good is war now?" the other man said "We're not ready. If one Hand can die, why not the second."

Arya widened her eyes, these men were talking about killing her father.

"This hand is not the other" The bald man stated "He may be able to keep the peace for now but he can't forever."

"Khal Drogo will not invade until his son is born" The other man said "Such is the way of these savages."

"Maybe I can help speed things up a bit" The bald man suggested "And if we have to resort to our other plan then we can. But he will need someone to help him and I have the perfect person in mind. That Wolf Girl, the Stark's oldest daughter, she's a warrior and if there is anyone who can shape that boy, it is her but trying to get her to help will be difficult"

Then the men walked away and Arya could not see them but they had locked the door which she had come down before. She looked down the passage where the two men had gone and decided that she had to find another way out that way. But now she could see that Astrid was in danger and she had to warn her.

…

The Stark Household was all worried. Astrid had gotten ready to start another training section with Arya but there was no sign of her. The Stark Guards had all gone off to try and find her but they had searched all of the Household and there was no sign of her. Astrid was both cross and proud of her. Astrid was cross as she had told Arya not to go too far but also proud about how brave she was. Most of the Stark Guards had gone searching for Arya and Astrid had joined them. She was searching the courtyard when she saw two Gold Cloak arguing with a lad who was filthy. But when Astrid got a closer look at the lad, she saw that it wasn't a lad at all but a girl. The girl had gotten covered in dirt.

"I want to see my father!" the girl snapped

"And I want to fuck the Queen" one of the Gold Cloaks sneered "Do you know where you father is, he's lying on the floor of some tavern."

"My father is Lord Eddard Stark!" the girl snapped "Lord of Winterfell and the Hand of the King and if you two don't let me past right now then I will ensure that your heads are on spikes."

Astrid could see that this was definitely Arya "All right that's enough" she said which made everyone look at her "That is definitely Lady Arya"

"I'm not a lady!" Arya snapped

Astrid smiled "That is defiantly my sister" she stated and then she glared at the Gold Cloaks "And it's time for you two to clear off!" the Gold Cloaks didn't need telling twice before they left and Astrid narrowed her eyes at her sister "You are in a lot of trouble Arya, I told you not to leave the grounds!"

"I didn't mean too" Arya defended "I got trapped and then lost while exploring. I ended up outside the walls. But I need to tell father, I overheard something important. It involves you as well"

Astrid looked confused but she decided to take Arya to see their father.

…

Like Astrid thought, Lord Eddard Stark was not happy at all "Do you know that I had nearly all of my guard searching for you!" Eddard hissed "You weren't meant to leave these walls, what if you had been attacked?"

"I didn't mean to leave the walls" Arya insisted "I was exploring the Dungeons when I came across the Dragon Skulls of the Targaryen Dragons. I was intrigued by them but then I overheard 2 men talking and then they sealed the door and I had to find another way out. I don't know who they were but one of them had a bald head"

"Arya?" Eddard sighed

"I'm not lying!" Arya shouted "They were talking about how you have the book and found one of the bastards. Then one said that 'if one hand can die then why not the second' and they were saying something about a savage. They also said that the wolf and the lion will be at each other's throats soon." Then she turned to look at Astrid who was also in the room "And then they spoke about you as well Astrid. They spoke about another plan and they claimed that you could shape the boy."

Astrid looked a bit confused but before she could ask her more about this there was a knock on the door and Jory entered "Pardon me my Lord" Jory greeted "But there is a Night's Watchman here to see you"

"Send him in" Eddard ordered as he stood up, Jory then opened the door and a rough looking man wearing the Black Cloak of the Night's Watch entered "A name friend?" Eddard asked

"Yoren, if it pleases you" the man replied and then he looked "And this must be your son, he has the look"

"I'm a girl!" Arya snapped though she could have been mistaken for a boy since she was quite filthy

Eddard ignored his daughter and turned to Yoren "Did my brother Benjen send you?" he asked

Yoren shook his head "No one sent me" he stated "I'm here to find men for the wall, I hope to see if there is any scum in the Dungeons who might be fit for service."

Eddard looked at him "I'll find you recruits for your order"

"Thank you my Lord" Yoren stated "But that is not why I disturbed you now. Your brother Benjen, his blood runs black which makes him my brother as well. It's for his sake that I road here so fast that I damn near killed my horse. There are others riding, the whole city will know what has happened soon"

Eddard now had a worried look on his face "What will the city known soon?" he asked

Yoren looked around the room, "It might be best to say this in private" he said "The wrong people might be listening"

Eddard sighed and turned to Astrid "Astrid, take your sister to do some more training"

Astrid nodded and Arya left with her along with Jory. Arya turned to Jory as they walked away from Eddard's office "How many men does my father have here?" she asked

"Here in King's Landing?" Jory questioned "Fifty"

"You wouldn't let anyone kill him?" Arya added

Jory laughed "I will protect your father with my life" he said "It's my job to do so"

As soon as everyone left the office, Yoren closed the door and Eddard looked at him "Well?" he asked "What has happened?"

"It's about your wife my Lord" Yoren stated "She's taken the Imp; she arrested him at the Crossroads Inn.

Eddard looked at Yoren with a shocked and worried look in his eyes. He was worried that his wife would do something like that; she loved her children so much that she would do anything to protect them. But now she had taken Tyrion Lannister which wouldn't go down too well with his father Tywin Lannister. Now it seems that the seven kingdoms were about to go to war.

...

Astrid had taken Arya back for some more training and now she was training Arya how to find weak spots in her enemies. But she had noticed Arya was worried "Is everything alright sister?" she Astrid asked "You seem to be a bit worried for some reason."

"I just can't stop thinking about what I saw back in the dungeons" Arya replied "I keep thinking that someone is going to try and harm father."

"Don't worry sister" Astrid smiled "I'm sure father will be fine. And if anyone tries to harm my family, I will strike back. I don't care if it took years but if anyone hurt my family then I would not stop until the culprits were wiped out."

Arya smiled and then they carried on training. They were doing it for some time until one of the Stark Guards that Astrid knew was Desmond.

"Astrid, Arya" he greeted "Your father sent me to get you two so you can start packing your bags."

"Pack our bags?" Arya questioned "Why?"

"Your fathers is calling all of the household" Desmond replied "We're going back to Winterfell"

"Why?" Astrid asked "I thought father was the Hand of the King?"

"He was" Desmond replied "But he's not Hand of the King anymore. He just resigned. He and King Robert have just had a disagreement over Daenerys Targaryen. The King wants to have her killed but Lord Eddard says that he will have nothing to do with it. He's resigned as protest."

"So where is father now?" Arya asked, her voice was filled with worry.

"He went with Lord Petyr Baelish" Desmond answered "He said he had something to show him. Jory went with him along with Heward and Wyl"

Arya looked at Astrid with a worried look which Astrid saw so she turned to Desmond "Desmond" Astrid stated "Go help Arya get ready, I'm going to make sure father is okay. Don't worry, I can look after myself."

So Astrid got her sword ready. She wore her leather armour and got her Direwolf Huntress ready and then they went into the city to find their father and make sure that he was safe.

...

After Eddard had resigned from his position as Hand of the King, he had been visited by Petyr Baelish who claimed that he could take him to the last person Jon Arryn spoke to before he fell ill. Baelish had taken him to one of his brothels and to one of his girls. The girl was quite young with red hair and looked quite pretty. She also carried a small baby which was one of King Robert's bastard children.

"She looks like him, doesn't she my lord" the girl known as Mhaegen claimed "She has his nose, his black hair."

"Aye" Eddard replied

"Tell him my lord next time you see if, if it please you" Mhaegen said "Tell him how beautiful she is"

"I will" Eddard stated

"And tell him that I've been with no one else" Mhaegen added "I swear it my lord, by the old gods and the new. I don't no jewels or nothing, just him. He was always good to me."

Eddard looked at her "When Jon Arryn came to visit you, what did he want?" he asked

"He wasn't that sort of man my lord" Mhaegen said "He just wanted to know if the child was happy, healthy"

"She looks healthy enough for me" Eddard stated as he shook one of the baby's hands.

Eddard then left Mhaegen alone and went back to see Baelish "I find Brothels a better investment than ships" Baelish stated "Whores rarely sink"

"What do you know of King Robert's Bastards?" Eddard asked

"Well he has more than you for a start" Baelish replied "If you fuck enough women they give you presents."

"Jon Arryn tracked them down?" Eddard questioned "Why?"

"He was the King's Hand" Baelish stated "Maybe King Robert wanted them to be checked over. See if they were happy. He was overcome with fatherly love,"

Eddard decided that he needed to head back to the household and pack "Come" he said to his men when he saw Jory eyeing one of the Whores "Jory!"

"My lord" Jory said and then they left the Brothel.

But when they got outside the Brothel, they saw a group of Lannister Guards approaching which surrounded them. Then Jaime Lannister came up on horseback "Such a small pack of wolves" he said as he dismounted his horse.

"Stay back sir!" Jory hissed "This is the Hand of the King"

"He was the Hand of the King" Jaime stated "He resigned as Hand of the King. I'm not sure what he is, the lord of somewhere far away."

Jaime and Eddard stared at each other as Baelish came out and glared at Jaime "What's the meaning of this Lannister?" he hissed

Jaime smirked at him "Get back inside where it's safe" he said "I'm looking for my brother, you remember him well don't you Lord Stark. Blond hair, sharp tongue, short man."

Eddard looked at Jaime "I remember him well" he stated

"It seems that he had some trouble on the road" Jaime added "You wouldn't know what happened to him?"

Eddard knew that word had reached the city about what his wife had done. He knew that he had to protect his wife so he lied "He was taken at my command to answer for his crimes"

Jaime smirked and then he drew his sword as did the Lannister soldiers with him. Jory and the other two Stark Guards drew their swords in response.

"My lords!" Baelish shouted and he saw that a fight was about to break out "I'll bring the city watch" he then ran back inside his Brothel.

Jaime then smirked and looked at Eddard "Come Stark, I'd rather you die with a sword in your hand."

Jory narrowed his eyes at Jaime "If you threaten my lord again!" he hissed

"Threatened?" Jaime questioned "As in if I threaten to open your lord from balls to brain to see what Starks are made of."

Eddard looked at Jaime "If you kill me, then your brother is a dead man" he knew that Catelyn would kill Tyrion if anything happened to him

Jaime smiled at him "You know what Stark, you're right" he then turned to his men "Take him alive, kill his men"

Jaime's men then walked towards Eddard and his guards. Two Lannister guards threw spears at them which impaled Heward and Wyl and killed them. Eddard and Jory then engaged the Lannister guards. They were able to dodge the attacks and kill a few of the guards. But then Jory attacked Jaime who locked his blade with Jory's and then Jaime pulled out a dagger from his belt which he thrust straight into Jory's eye. Eddard looked in horror as Jaime withdrew the dagger and Jory fell to the floor dead. Jory was the son of one of Eddard's friends from Robert's Rebellion, Martyn Cassel who died at the Tower of Joy in Dorne while trying to rescue Eddard's sister Lyanna.

Jaime and Eddard stared at each other until a loud growl was heard. Everyone watched as a large Direwolf jumped from the crowd and onto one of the Lannister guards. Eddard then gasped when he saw his daughter Astrid charge at Jaime with her two swords drawn.

"Astrid, what are you doing here?" Eddard shouted at her

"Protecting you!" Astrid answered "I won't let anyone hurt you!"

Jaime laughed "So the savage wolf makes an appearance" he stated

Astrid narrowed her eyes at Jaime and then she swung her swords around and pointed them at her "I always protect my family."

"That's not how a lady acts" Jaime laughed

Astrid smirked "I'm not a lady, I'm a she wolf, now let's see how good you are Kingslayer"

Then she and Jaime attacked each other with their blades while the other Lannister guards attacked Eddard. Jaime saw that Astrid was not like Jory who just recklessly attacked Jaime, Astrid knew how to find weaknesses in Jaime's position. Astrid also fought with two swords so she could strike from multiply directions. Astrid also ducked when Jaime tried to strike her head. Jaime and Astrid fought each other for a while until they locked blades together.

"You are a skill wolf" Jaime admitted "This is one of the best fights I've had in a while"

"I trained a lot" Astrid sneered and then she pushed forward which pushed Jaime back. Astrid then noticed two guards charging at her from different directions so Astrid jumped back which resulted in one of the Lannister guards impaling his spear into the other while Astrid quickly swung around and slashed the other one.

She and Jaime then stared at each other again before they attacked again. Jaime eventually able to knock Astrid back a few feet then he slashed his sword which knocked one of Astrid's swords from her hands. Now Astrid was fighting with one sword but she was still skilled

Jaime smirked, he hadn't had a fight like this for some time, many of the people he fought against in tourneys weren't that skilled and he had never fought in a proper battle before. But now he was having the greatest fight he had in years. The she wolf Astrid was clearly a skilled fighter and he had the personality to be the one who would protect her family. But the fight did not last forever but it ended before Jaime would have liked.

While Astrid was fighting Jaime, Eddard was fighting multiply Lannister Guards. He was a skilled fighter and was able to beat back the Lannister guards. But he was getting tired and when he saw his daughter fighting Jaime, he was worried that his daughter might get hurt, he had seen Jory get killed by Jaime. But when he got distracted, a Lannister pierced his leg with a spear causing him to cry out in pain.

Astrid heard her father cry out in pain and quickly pushed Jaime back and turned around and stared in horror as her father was pierced by a Lannister spear "Father!" Astrid yelled and then he ran towards her father and slashed the Lannister guard who had hurt her father.

Eddard Stark collapsed to his knees and was held by Astrid "Father, are you okay?" she asked Eddard just groaned in pain.

"A shame" Jaime said "That was such a great fight." He then narrowed his eyes at Eddard "Now, I want my brother back, and it better be done soon" Jaime and the rest of his men then walked away leaving Astrid with her father.

Astrid narrowed her eyes in hate at Jaime but was more concerned about her father "Just hold on father" Astrid said "I'll get you to a healer" Eddard just groaned in response.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Well it's been a long time since I updated this story but I have one done. With my Dragon-X story finished, I have more time to work on this story as well as my others though I'm trying to get my Fictionpress story done. I also have a chapter of the Divine Empire done which I hope to finish within the week. There are a number of breaks in this chapter but that's because I'm only showing important scenes for Astrid.**


	8. Discoveries

**Discoveries:**

Eddard Stark groaned and he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry as he had been asleep for some time. His leg was in pain and his body felt sore. When he could finally see properly again, he saw that he was laying on a bed in the Red Keep and he saw King Robert and Queen Cersei standing near him, both didn't look very happy.

"Pardon your Grace" Eddard said "I would rise but..." he looked at his leg and it showed that he would have trouble walking.

"Do you know what your wife has done?" Cersei snapped

Eddard lied again to protect his wife "She did nothing that I didn't command"

"Who would have thought she had it in her" Robert said

Cersei narrowed her eyes at Eddard "By what right do you lay your hands on blood."

"I am the King's Hand!" Eddard hissed

"You were the King's Hand until you resigned" Cersei snapped

Then the two of them started shouting at each other until Robert groaned in frustration

"All right, all right!" he shouted "That's enough, will both of you shut your mouths!" he then narrowed his eyes at Eddard "Your wife will release Tyrion Lannister, and you will make your peace with Jaime."

"Jaime and his men slaughtered mine" Eddard replied "He stabbed Jory through the eye."

Cersei snorted "Lord Stark was returning Drunk from a Brothel when his men attacked my brother"

Robert glared at his wife "Quiet woman!" he snapped

"Jaime has fled the city" Eddard said "Give me leave to bring him back for justice"

Cersei narrowed her eyes at her husband "I took you for a King and you're taking orders from the men that serve you!"

"Hold your tongue!" Robert growled

"He's attacked one of my brothers and attacked the other!" Cersei snarled "I should wear the armour and you the grown" Robert looked at her before he slapped her hard across the cheek which knocked her face to the side. Cersei smirked as she held her face which had a red mark where Robert had slapped her "I shall wear that as a badge of honour"

Robert narrowed his eyes at his wife "Wear it in silence or I'll honour you again!" he growled "Get out!" Cersei huffed as she walked away and left the room. As soon as she was gone, Robert shrugged his shoulders "She what she does to me? My loving wife" he picked up a jug of wine and poured himself a glass "I should not have hit her" he sat down on the bed "That was not... that was not kingly"

Eddard looked at the King "If we do not act, there will be war" he said

Robert looked at his wine "So tell your wife to release that little shit of an imp to King's Landing. She's had her fun now put an end to it" he said "You hear me send a raven and put an end to it!" then he turned to Eddard "And make sure that wild daughter of yours doesn't cause more problems."

"You mean Astrid your Grace?" Eddard questioned

Robert sighed "She's a wild girl Ned." He stated "She dangerous and she's not very happy with the Lannisters. She's had to stay in your area for her own safety. She's begun threatening anyone who isn't working for House Stark."

"And what of Jaime Lannister?" Eddard questioned

Robert sighed "I'm half a Kingdom in debt to his bloody father!" he hissed "I don't know what happened between you and your daughter with Jaime Lannister and those yellow haired shits! I don't want to know! This is what matters, I can't rule the Seven Kingdoms when the Starks and the Lannisters are at each other's throats so enough."

"As you command your Grace" Eddard sighed "Though Astrid may not be happy, she won't let what Jaime did be forgotten"

"Well you best make sure she doesn't do anything foolish!" Robert grumbled

Eddard sighed "With your leave, I shall return to Winterfell and set matters straight"

Robert shook his head "Piss on that!" he snorted "Send a raven, I want you to stay. I'm the King, I get what I want" he then drank his goblet of wine "I never loved my brothers. Renly is always happy and doesn't care about anything than making people happy. And I could never stand Stannis' emotionless face; he took things way to serious. It's a sad thing for a man to admit but it's true." He turned to look at Eddard "You were the brother I chose, Jon Arryn raised us like brothers at the Eyrie." He then stood up "We'll talk when I return from the Hunt in the Kingswood" he threw something onto Eddard's bed.

Eddard looked to see that it was the Hand of the King badge, he had thrown it at Robert when he had resigned as Hand of the King. Eddard then looked at the King confused "The King?" he questioned

"Killing things in the woods clears my head" Robert answered as he looked at Eddard "You'll have to sit on the Throne while I'm away." He then chuckled "You'll hate it as much as I do"

"What of the Targaryen Girl?" Eddard asked. The plan to assassinate Daenerys Targaryen which Eddard saw as a dishonourable act was the reason why he had resigned as Hand of the King.

"Oh for Seven Hells!" Robert grumbled as he left the room and looked back at Eddard "Don't start with her again!" he pointed at Eddard "The Girl will die and I'll hear no more about it! Put on the Badge, and if you ever take it off again, I swear that I'll pin the damn thing on Jaime Lannister" Robert then left the room leaving Eddard alone as he picked up the pin of the Hand of the King.

...

In the North, Bran was finally able to test the new harness that Tyrion had gifted him when he travelled back south. Even though Bran was now a cripple and could no longer walk, this new harness would allow him to ride a horse. Bran cheered in delight as his horse galloped through the trees.

"Not too fast" Robb said to his brother as he rode by. He and Theon were over in the Wolfswood as they needed to talk about what had happened in the south. They had heard that Jaime Lannister had attacked Lord Eddard Stark and fought with Astrid though Bran still didn't know.

"When are you going to tell him what happen with your father?" Theon asked

"Not yet" Robb replied

"Blood for blood" Theon stated as Bran rode by again "You need to make the Lannisters pay for killing Jory along with Wyl and Heward."

"You're talking about starting a war" Robb sighed

Theon stared at him "I'm talking about getting justice for your father. What the Lannisters have done cannot be accepted."

Robb sighed "Only the lord of Winterfell can call the Banners and march to war."

"But the Lannisters put a spear through your fathers leg" Theon hissed "The Kingslayer attacked your sister, Astrid may be a skilled fighter but she could have been killed. Now the Kingslayer rides for Casterly Rock and will not get justice"

"So you want me to march on Casterly Rock!" Robb shouted

"You are not a boy anymore!" Theon stated "They attacked your father and sister; they've already started the war. It's your duty to represent your house when your father is unable to."

Robb looked at his friend and narrowed his eyes at him "And it's not your duty because it's not your house." Robb then stood up and looked around. He widened his eyes when he saw that his brother was gone "Wait, where's Bran, I told him not to go too far"

Theon stood up and looked around "I don't know. But it's not my house" he then began walking away.

Meanwhile, Bran and his horse had ridden further into the Woods. Now Bran's Horse was walking slowly instead of galloping. But Bran was unaware that he was being followed by several people.

Then as Bran's horse turned around, four people suddenly appeared and took hold of Bran's horse. They were filthy and wore dirty clothes. They were either outlaws or wildlings and Bran realised that he was now in trouble.

"All alone in the deep dark woods" a woman sneered

Bran looked around and tried to hide his fear "I'm not alone, my brother is with me" he stated

"Well I don't see him" a man sneered "Got him hidden under your cloak"

The woman from before eyed his pin "Well that's a pretty pin" she smirked "Made of silver"

The man from before sneered at Bran "We'll take the pin" and then he stroked the head of Bran's Horse "And the horse. Get down"

The problem was that because of Bran's crippled legs, he was unable to get off the horse by himself. The smirk on the man's face fell "Be quick about it" he hissed

"I can't" Bran shouted in fear "The saddle, the straps."

The third person removed Bran's cloak and saw the straps which held Bran in place and prevented him from walking "What's wrong with you?" he asked

The other man sneered "Are you some kind of cripple?"

"I'm Brandon Stark of Winterfell!" Bran shouted in anger "If you don't let me go then I'll have you all executed"

The 2nd man pulled a knife out "Let's cut his little cock off and stuff it in his mouth" he sneered

The woman narrowed his eyes at the two men as one of them began cutting the straps "The boy is worth nothing dead. This is Benjen Stark's little nephew! Think of what Mance would give us."

One of the Wildlings slice Bran's knee with his knife, "Piss on Mance Rayder and Piss on the North. We're going as far south as we possibly can. There aren't any White Walkers down in Dawn"

They were unaware that Robb had arrived looking for Bran "Drop the knife!" he ordered and then the four wildlings turned to him as Robb drew his sword "Let him go and I'll let you live."

The men just snarled and one of them charged at Robb and swung an axe. Robb ducked under the swing and slashed the man's throat. The man fell over dead. One of the other wildlings pulled Bran off his saddle while the woman attacked Robb and surprised him for a moment but Robb quickly recovered and knocked the woman down then thrust his sword into another Wildling who charged at him. The blade went through the Wildling's chest.

But the fourth Wildling had pulled Bran off his saddle and held him tight with a knife on his throat "Robb!" Bran yelled in horror

"Shut up!" the Wildling snarled and looked back at Robb "Drop the Blade"

Robb looked conflicted on what to do "Robb don't" he begged

The Wildling tightened the blade against Bran's neck "Do it!" he ordered

Robb sighed and he slowly placed his sword on the ground. The man sneered in delight but gasped and coughed up blood as an arrow was shot though his back causing him to drop Bran. The man collapsed and Robb saw Theon standing behind him with his bow drawn. Theon placed another arrow in his bow and walked up the Wildling Woman that Robb had captured. Robb dropped her and walked over to Bran.

"Are you alright" he asked as he saw the cut on his leg

"Yes" Bran replied as Robb picked him up "It doesn't hurt"

Theon pointed his arrow at the Wildling woman who was on the floor "Tough little lad" he smirked "On the Iron Islands, you're not a man until you have killed your first enemy"

Robb looked at the three men who were dead and narrowed his eyes at Theon "Have you lost your mind, what if you had missed?"

"He would have killed you and then cut Bran's throat!" Theon hissed

"You don't have the right! Robb snapped

"To do what?" Theon demanded "To save your brother? It was the only thing to do so I did it"

Robb sighed and felt bad about what he had said and so he turned to the Wildling woman "And what about her?" he asked

Robb looked at the Wildling woman who looked scared, Robb decided that they needed a prisoner to question about why there were so many Wildlings fleeing south of the Wall.

"Take here, we'll question her back at Winterfell" he ordered and then Theon took hold of the woman and dragged her along while Robb helped his brother and the horse he was riding.

...

Astrid and Arya were with Sansa and Septa Mordane while they were having tea. Arya wore her northern clothes and kept her hair in a Northern braid. Astrid has chosen to wear her usual leather armour and she too had her hair in a Northern braid. Sansa however had chosen to wear a light blue southern dress and her hair was braided in a Southern way. Both Astrid and Arya disliked this as they saw Sansa as going against their beliefs and traditions. Astrid had seen Sansa starting to become more of a spoilt brat and starting to behave in a rude way.

They had been eating for some time when Sansa spoke up "Why are you two training?" she asked her sisters "Ladies don't fight"

"By the Old Gods!" Astrid hissed "Don't start that again, I had enough with that argument. Unlike you Arya and me don't want to be silly southern ladies. We like the Northern ways just fine. You've been listening to too many of those stories about dream Princes. You really should start to grow up. Those stories are just tales. The south is full of lies and power hungry people."

"The South is wonderful" Sansa snapped back "You're just jealous"

"Me? Jealous of what!" Astrid snapped "Of some fancy stuck up prince whose lies nearly got our pets killed. Of you acting like some spoilt brat. The only reason I'm here is to keep my family safe. I love my family and I won't let anyone try to harm my family. Especially from some power hungry family who thinks they can rule everything." Astrid looked at Arya who saw that an argument was about to break out "Arya why don't you go and get ready, we'll do another training lesson" Arya stood up and left the room.

Astrid then narrowed her eyes at Sansa "Just look at yourself Sansa, you've forgotten that you are a Stark of Winterfell. You're acting like you have already been married to a Prince who clearly has no interest in you. You're wearing Southern Clothes and wearing your hair in a southern braid. You might as well call yourself a southern since your acting like one"

"Astrid Stark!" Mordane snapped "That is no way to speak to your sister"

Astrid angrily pointed her finger at Mordane "You, stay out of this!" she growled "You have no business in interfering with my business! This is between me and Sansa! So shut your mouth!" Mordane stepped back in shock. All it took was for her to say the wrong think and then Astrid would strike her and then throw her from the keep. Astrid then narrowed her eyes at Sansa "The whole of the Seven Kingdoms are on the verge of Civil War because of what our mother did. She was a fool to take Tyrion Lannister and now our whole family is in danger from the wrath of the Lannisters. But you don't even care about that. You don't even care that our father was attacked by the Lannisters, you only care about that prick of a Prince!"

Sansa could only look at her sister in shock. The relationship between the two had deteriorated but Astrid had never taken it this far. "Why should you care?" Sansa snorted "You don't even care about this"

Astrid jumped up so quickly that she knocked her hair back and groaned in frustration "You know what? I don't know why I even bother anymore. You're hopeless Sansa, you're not thinking straight. I'm not going to bother arguing with you anymore. I'm going to help Arya train and the sooner we leave this place the better." Astrid then stormed out of the room.

As soon as she was gone, Sansa looked at Mordane "She's wrong, I am thinking straight. And I'm not hopeless"

Mordane couldn't think of anything to say. While she disliked Astrid's attitude, Astrid did have a point. Mordane could see that Sansa was becoming more of a spoilt little brat and was seeing everyone else as inferior. This was something that Astrid didn't like. But Mordane was unable to say anything as Prince Joffrey walked into the room "My Prince" Mordane greeted as she gave a small bow.

Sansa stood up quickly and turned around. She smiled as she gave a small bow "My Prince" she greeted

Joffrey gave a kind smile and bowed himself "My Lady" he greeted "I fear that I have behaved monstrously these past few weeks." He then reached into his pocket and brought something out "With your permission, I would like to give you this gift"

Sansa stared in shock at the gift, it was a golden necklace in the shape of a lion just like the one that Cersei wore. Sansa turned around and then Joffrey place the necklace around Sansa's neck. Sansa stared at the necklace and looked back at Joffrey "It's beautiful" she said "Just like your mothers wears."

"You will be my queen someday" Joffrey stated "It's only fitting that you should look the part." Joffrey and Sansa looked at each other before Joffrey looked down and then back at Sansa "Will you forgive me for my rudeness?"

Sans looked at Joffrey "There is nothing to forgive" she said

"You're my lady." Joffrey said "One day we shall be married in the throne room. Lords and ladies from all over Westeros will come. From the Last Hearth in the North to the Salt Shore in the South. And you will be queen of them all" Sansa looked at Joffrey with a smile while Mordane looked concerned "I shall never disrespect you again. I'll never be cruel to you again, do you understand me. Do you understand me?" he then stroked Sansa's cheek "You're my lady now, from this day until my last day." Joffrey then slowly leaned forward and kissed Sansa on the lips. Mordane looked away from the scene, she was not convinced by Joffrey's words and the prospect of Sansa marrying Prince Joffrey no longer had any favour with her.

Septa Mordane wasn't the only one who was concerned. No one knew that outside the room, Astrid was hiding around a corner and has seen everything. She knew full well that Joffrey was lying about loving Sansa and that Joffrey had been made to do this by his mother. She could see through Joffrey easily but Sansa was deeply in love with the Prince. Astrid just narrowed her eyes at the Prince "Sansa you bloody fool!" she hissed quietly "I hope you see reason soon" Astrid then left before she was spotted to go and help Arya train.

…

With King Robert going out hunting, Eddard had taken the duty of sitting on the Iron Throne and taking court. Eddard was sitting on the Iron throne with the Grand Maester Pycelle and Master of Coin Petyr Baelish sitting next to him. A man from the Riverlands village had arrived and was begging the crown for aid. The village he was from had been attacked.

"They burnt, most everything in the Riverlands" the man spoke "Our homes, our fields and our granaries were put to the torch. They took our woman and then they took them again, and when they were done, they cut their throats and threw the bodies aside. Even girls as young as 12 were attacked. They took our children and covered them it pitch and then set them aflame. I can still remember the sounds of their screams of agony and terror."

Eddard looked at Pycelle for an explanation "Brigands most likely" he stated "They always like to attack helpless villages."

The man looked at him "They weren't Thieves" he said "They didn't steal anything, they didn't steal our food. They even left something behind your Grace"

"This is the King's Hand you're addressing, not the King" Pycelle stated "The King is out hunting"

Another refugee stepped forward with a cloth sack and emptied what was inside it. The people groaned as the bag was filled with rotten fish.

"Fish, the Sigil of House Tully" Baelish stated and then looked at Eddard "Isn't that your wife's House?"

Eddard had a bad feeling he knew what was happening so he looked at the man again "These men, did they carry a Sigil?" he asked and the man looked confused so Eddard made it clearer "A Banner?"

The man shook his head "None your Hand" he stated "But the man who led these raiders, he was the tallest man I've ever met. Tall by a foot with thick black armour and a massive sword and shield. I saw him cut the Blacksmith in two, and cut the head of a horse with a single swing of his sword"

Baelish looked at Eddard "That sounds like someone we know" he stated "The Mountain."

Eddard looked at the Refugee "You are describing Ser Gregor Clegane" he stated

Pycelle looked at Eddard "Why would Ser Gregor turn brigand?" he stated "The man is an anointed Knight"

Baelish stared at Eddard "I've heard him be called, Tywin Lannister's Mad Dog." He claimed "Do you have any reason to know why the Lannisters would be angry with your wife's family"

Pycelle snorted "If Lord Tywin Lannister were to order an attack on lands under the King's protection, it would make him a traitor!"

"That is just like attacking the Hand of the King in the streets" Baelish added.

Eddard now knew that Tywin had ordered Ser Gregor to attack the Riverlands in response to his wife taking Tyrion Lannister prisoner. He had to sort this situation out before all-out war began. But as he was an honourable man, he was not going to let Ser Gregor's actions go unpunished and this was a chance to see that Gregor was punished for his actions he committed during the Sack of King's Landing during Robert's Rebellion "I cannot bring back your homes or restore you dead to life" Eddard stated "But perhaps I can grant you some form of justice in the name of Our King Robert" He then looked into the people and called out one man "Lord Beric Dondarrion, you shall have the command, assemble 100 men and ride to Ser Gregor's Keep"

Lord Beric Dondarrion stepped forward, he was a dashing young man with red-gold hair and his breastplate had a purple lightning bolt engraved on it which was the Sigil of House Dondarrion. Jeyne Poole, Sansa's childhood friend had stated that she would one day marry Beric even though he was already betrothed to Lady Allyria Dayne. Beric nodded in response to Eddard's orders.

Eddard then stood up from the Iron Throne with help from the Cane. He had problems walking since he had been stabbed in the leg and would have to walk with a cane until his leg healed. "In the name of King Robert of House Baratheon, King of the Andals and the First Men. Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, I charge you to bring the King's Justice upon the False Knight Ser Gregor Clegane and all those who shared in his crimes" the crowd began talking to each other "I denounce him and attaint him. I strip him of all ranks and holdings. Of all lands and incomes and sentence him to death. I charge you to bring him back here to be punished for his crimes"

"I will do so my Lord" Beric said

Pycelle looked at Eddard "My lord, isn't that a bit drastic?" he questioned "Perhaps it would be best to wait until the King returned from the Hunt"

Eddard ignored him as he knew that Queen Cersei would use Robert to try and let Gregor go unpunished "Grand Maester" Eddard added "Send a Raven to Casterly Rock and inform Lord Tywin. He is to show himself in the capital to explain the actions of his Bannermen in two weeks or he will be branded a traitor and named an enemy of the Crown" Now the crown started gasping at Eddard's orders "If that is all then leave us" the crowd soon began leaving while Grand Maester Pycelle left the room in order to write the message. Just Baelish and Eddard were left and Eddard began walking away. He had to do something and get his family home before things got out of hand in the capital.

Baelish patted Eddard on the back but looked concerned "My lord, that is a bold action but also dangerous" he stated "You're provoking the most powerful and wealthiest house in the Seven Kingdoms. Gold wins wars, not soldiers"

Eddard snorted "Then how come Robert is King and not Tywin Lannister."

…

Astrid and Arya stood in the hall where they usually practised their fighting. But today Arya didn't feel like practising her swordplay and Astrid noticed her sad look "Hey what's wrong?" she asked "Are you alright sister?"

"I'm fine Astrid" Arya replied "It's just, I don't feel like practicing swordplay right now. I just can't help but think about what happened to father and what I saw in the dungeons."

Astrid sighed "I don't like the fact that Jaime Lannister attacked our father but the person we should blame is our mother" she stated

"Why should we blame mother?" Astrid asked

"Because if she hadn't been a fool and taken Tyrion Lannister, Jaime never would have attacked our father. She wasn't thinking and she though that father's position as Hand of the King would protect her and her actions. But I have been in the South before and I know what Tywin Lannister is like. Tywin Lannister wants to build a legacy and a House that will last generations. Even if he isn't fond of Tyrion he is still a Lannister and taking him prisoner is a slight which he will not accept. Mother should have thought things through before she arrested Tyrion."

Arya then thought about what she saw in the Dungeons "But what about what I saw when I was in the dungeons. That worries me as well and not just about father, but also about what they said about you"

Astrid didn't really know what to think about what Arya saw, she believed her but she didn't know what she saw meant "Down here in the South, the Game of Thrones is used a lot" Astrid admitted "The game with politics to gain power. The Game isn't used much in the North due to many lords being honourable lords though some Houses like the Boltons may play the game. But here the Houses fight against each other in the shadows to gain power and there are huge rivalries between Houses. Rivalries like between the Blackwoods and Brackens. What you saw may just be two people planning to gain power but we don't know who." Astrid then looked at Arya, "But this is why you must be ready, someone has their eyes on our family and I think we will have a role to play in the future of the realm so we must be ready to fight if they plan to use us against our family. I won't be used as some pawn and you won't either"

Arya smirked "You're right" she stated "I will defend our family from the likes of the Queen and that stuck up prick of a Prince."

"Then we getter get on with training" Astrid smiled and then she and Arya got their wooden swords ready for some more training.

Astrid and Arya then began fighting each other with their swords and Astrid taught Arya a few more moves. But their training was interrupted when Desmond arrived "My ladies" he greeted "I apologize for interrupting your training but your father has asked to see the two of you in his office. He says that it's urgent"

Astrid sighed and she looked at Arya "I'm sorry Arya but I'm afraid we will have to continue with this later." Then she and Arya put their wooden swords away and went with Desmond to see their father.

…

Lord Eddard Stark walked heavily on his cane as he saw Astrid and Arya enter the room. Sansa was already in his office. Eddard was a little concerned when he saw the golden Lion pendant around her neck and Septa Mordane had told him that Joffrey had apologized but Eddard didn't believe Joffrey meant it. Mordane had also told Eddard about Sansa's behaviour and how she was acting more like a spoilt brat and becoming more and more like Joffrey and so Eddard knew that he had to do something before Sansa was lost to him.

"You wanted to see us father?" Astrid asked as she and Arya entered the room.

"I did" Eddard replied "I have something I need to tell you." He then paused as he knew what he was about to say wouldn't be met well with Sansa "I'm sending the three of you back to Winterfell"

"What!" Sansa gasped

"This isn't a punishment" Eddard stated "I'm sending the three of you back for your own safety. It's getting too dangerous here and I don't want the three of you to stay any longer."

"Father I can't!" Sansa stated "What about Joffrey?"

"But what about my sword fighting lessons?" Arya asked "Mother will try to stop them and force me to be a lady again, Astrid says that I'm finally getting good"

"Don't worry sister" Astrid smiled "I'll make sure that she lets us train"

"You mean it?" Arya smiled and then she looked at her father "Are you dying, is it because of your leg? Is that why you're sending us back"

"What no" Eddard stated

"So Astrid and I can carry on training?" Arya questioned

"Who cares about your stupid sword fighting lessons?" Sansa snapped "You shouldn't be doing them anyway, ladies don't use swords. But I can't go I'm supposed to Marry Prince Joffrey, I love him and he loves me"

Eddard sighed, she knew that Sansa would put up a fight "When you return to Winterfell I'll find someone for you Sansa. Someone who is an honourable and good person"

"I don't want someone Honourable or good!" Sansa snapped "I want my Prince Joffrey, he's my golden lion and I love him and I'm meant to be his queen and have his babies"

"Seven hells!" Arya hissed

Astrid narrowed her eyes at Sansa "Joffrey is not a Golden Lion!" she snapped "His sigil is a stag, just like his father's. He's a Baratheon, not a Lannister"

"Joffrey is nothing like that Drunk!" Sansa snapped "He's the future King and I'm going to be his Queen. We're going to marry in a big ceremony and I'm going to give him lots of children with beautiful blond hair."

When Sansa said this, it made Eddard widen his eyes 'Blond hair' during him time in King's Landing he had seen some of King Robert's Bastard Children. The little girl Barra from the Brothel and the Blacksmith apprentice Gendry. Gendry looked so much like Robert when he was younger and he had his hair and his blue eyes. Eddard then had a nasty thought but he needed to see something to be sure. So he looked at Astrid "Get the girls to the Septa, make sure that they pack their bags"

"But…" Sansa began but Arya had enough

"Come on!" she stated as she took Sansa's hand and began dragging her out of the room.

"But it's not fair!" Sansa argued but Eddard wasn't listening.

When they were gone, Eddard went back to his desk and got the large book named 'The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms.' Eddard had gotten this book from Grand Maester Pycelle after he learnt that Jon Arryn had an interest in this book and that it might provide some clues into why he died. Eddard opened the book and turned it to the area he wanted, the section on House Baratheon.

Eddard then began reading the names of the Lords of House Baratheon "Lord Orys Baratheon, Black of Hair, Eyes of Blue. Axel Baratheon, Black of Hair. Lyonel Baratheon, Black of Hair, Eyes of Blue. Steffon Baratheon, Black of Hair, Eyes of Blue" Eddard widened his eyes as now he began seeing a link between all the members of House Baratheon, then he turned the page "Robert Baratheon, Black of Hair, Eyes of Blue. Joffrey Baratheon, Golden Haired, Eyes of Green" Eddard stopped there, now he saw that Joffrey had nothing in common with his father though normally that could have been seen as Joffrey inheriting his mother's looks. But every single Baratheon born had black hair and Blue Eyes. Eddard looked at the other members of House Baratheon and saw that Lord Boros Baratheon, the lord of Storm's End during the Dance of the Dragons had four daughters with black hair. And Lord Ormund Baratheon, the father of Steffon and the daughter of Lyonel married Princess Rhaelle Targaryen and their children had black hair. The last member of House Baratheon who married into House Lannister was Gowen Baratheon who married Tya Lannister and even their children had black hair. Eddard had seen all he needed too and now he knew why Jon Arryn had died, he had discovered the truth about King Robert's children and that they were not his children at all. Queen Cersei had been cheating on Robert and father illegitimate heirs. Eddard now realised that there was only one person who the father could be. It was Jaime Lannister because the children all had Lannister looks. Eddard closed the book and could only think about what this revelation could do.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Another chapter down and now things are starting to get worse in King's Landing for the Starks. Soon we will be getting to the darker theme of this story but I now I'm able to update this story more often.**


	9. End of a Ruler

**End of a ruler:**

After the arrest of Tyrion Lannister, his father Tywin Lannister had gathered his forces and marched into the Riverlands. Tywin Lannister was a man feared throughout the Seven Kingdoms and was known for his brutality in dealing with issues. Many lords in the Westerlands followed him through fear or loyalty.

Tywin was an aging man of over fifty years old. His head was balding and his skin wrinkling, but he was still the same man from when he first rose to fame. Tywin was the Hand of the King for King Aerys II and he was seen as one of the best Hands who were appointed and the Seven Kingdoms enjoyed 20 years of peace. But as tension grew between Tywin and Aerys, things soon got out of hand and Tywin resigned as Hand after his son Jaime was placed into the Kingsguard. Tywin was most well known for his dealing with the House Reyne and Tarbeck during the Reyne-Tarbeck Rebellion where both Houses were wiped out to the last man. This gave Tywin a reputation of being harsh with traitors or people who threaten his House.

While Tywin had no love of his son Tyrion, Tyrion was still a Lannister and Tywin refused to be made look weak or a fool so he had gathered his men and marched into the Riverlands to force Catelyn to release Tyrion. Tywin had sent his most brutal men, Ser Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch into the Riverlands to burn the villages. He had then set up camp in the Riverlands as he made plans to put more pressure on Catelyn Tully by attacking Riverrun, her family's home.

Tywin was in his tent with a deer that he had hunted. His son Jaime had arrived after leaving King's Landing. Jaime was no longer dressed in his Kingsguard armour but was dressed in the red armour of the Lannister men. Jaime started reading the letter that Tywin had been sent from King's Landing.

"You are summoned to court to answer for the crimes of your Bannermen" Jaime read the letter "Gregor Clegane the Mountain. Arrive within the fortnight or be branded and enemy of the crown" Jaime then scoffed "Poor Ned Stark, great man but terrible judgement"

Tywin snorted as he brought out a knife and started skinning the Deer "Attacking him was stupid." He stated "You're a Lannister, Lannisters don't act like fools" he then pulled the deer's guts out and then threw then on the floor. Jaime was silent until Tywin looked at him "Are you going to say something?" Tywin added "Go on, say something clever"

Jaime thought for a moment "Catelyn Stark took my brother"

Tywin snorted "Why is he still alive?" he asked

Jaime looked at his father "Tyrion?" he questioned

Tywin snorted and shook his head "Ned Stark" he replied

Jaime looked at him "One of our men interfered and stabbed him in the leg" he stated "And I also had to fight that warrior daughter of his, Astrid"

Tywin snorted "I've heard tales about that wild daughter of Ned Stark." He stated "The say that she would do anything to defend her family but she does not have the best relationship with her mother."

"Well she definitely is skilled alright" Jaime admitted "Though I won't know how our fight would have ended as she went to protect her father after his was stabbed."

Tywin looked at his son "Why didn't you finish them off?" he questioned

"It wouldn't have been clean" Jaime claimed "And what would people think of me if I attacked a girl"

Tywin snorted "You spend too much time worrying about what other people think of you"

Jaime snorted "I couldn't care less about what other people think of me" he hissed

Tywin narrowed his eyes at his son "That's what you want people to think of you!" he snapped "When you hear them whispering Kingslayer behind your back doesn't it bother you?"

Jaime sighed in frustration "It does bother me" he admitted

"A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the sheep" Tywin stated "I guess I should be grateful that your feelings got in the way of your recklessness. Even Robert wouldn't be happy if the Lannisters killed his best friend even if he is an honourable fool. And I have to admit, that daughter of his intrigues me"

"You mean Astrid?" Jaime questioned "I've seen the way that girl behaves. She hates the South and anything to do with it. She hates her sister for behaving like a southern. I saw her talking angrily to her sister on the Kingsroad. She believes that Sansa Stark had turned her back on her family."

"She's a Northern" Tywin stated "She was raised in harsh lands. I couldn't care less about the Northern customs but they are a proud and strong people. They resisted the Andal Invasion thousands of years ago and their people stick to their northern customs instead of believing in the ways of the South. But that means they don't know Southern politics and that's Ned Stark's problem, he has no idea how things work in the South"

"And what of Astrid?" Jaime asked "Before I left I heard that she said her mother was a fool for what she did"

Tywin looked at her "Astrid Stark had been in the South before" he stated "She's the only Stark Child to set foot south of the neck. I never met her but Kevan did, he said that she has an attitude to defend her family. That could get her killed when people like my daughter work against her family. She is brave and someone who is willing to protect her family. She would have been a good player of the game if she was born to a southern family."

Jaime then looked at his father "So what will we do now?" he asked

Tywin looked at him "I'm giving you half our forces, 30,000 men." He stated "You'll take them to Catelyn Stark's girlhood home remind them that Lannisters pay their debts."

Jaime shrugged his shoulders "I didn't realise that you place a high value on my brother's life" he stated

Tywin snorted "I don't but he's a Lannister. He may be the lowest but he's still one of us." Tywin stated "And every day he's held prisoner, the less our name carries respect. And I will not allow that"

Jaime smirked "So the Lion does concern himself with the opinions of the sheep" he smirked

"No, it's not an opinion it's a fact!" Tywin snapped as he turned around to look at Jaime "If another House takes one of our own and holds him prisoner, we are no longer a House to be feared. And I cannot allow that, I will not let our House fall weak like the days of my father." Tywin then went back to skinning the dear "Your mother is dead; soon I'll be dead, as well as you, your brother, your sister and all their children. All of us dead, all of us rotting in the ground, but the family name lives on, it's all that lives on, not your personal glory, not your honour but family" Tywin then looked at Jaime "Do you understand?"

Jaime nodded in response and then Tywin wiped his hands with a cloth and looked at his son "You're blessed with abilities that few men have, you're blessed to belong to the most powerful family in the Seven Kingdoms, and you are still blessed with youth. And what have you done with these blessings? You served as a glorified bodyguard to two kings, one of them a drunk and the other one a madman. The future of our family will be determined in these next months. We can establish a dynasty that could last a 1000 years, or we could collapse into nothing like the Targaryens did." Tywin then placed his hand on his son's cheek "I need you to become the man you were always meant to be. Not next year, not tomorrow, now" Tywin then went back to skinning the deer as Jaime sighed and walked out.

...

Eddard Stark sat on a bench on the gardens of the Red Keep. He was still in shock at what he had discovered about Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen Baratheon. Despite what everyone thought, none of them were children of Robert Baratheon, they were all bastards of the Queen who had committed adultery and cheated on her husband. Eddard knew that they were not Robert's children as none of them had any Baratheon features and every Baratheon had black hair and blue eyes, even Robert's Bastard children had black hair and blue eyes. True Robert had never been faithful to his wife but for the Queen to mother a bastard heir to the throne was enough to get her executed for treason as none of her children had any right for the throne as they had no royal blood. Eddard knew that he had to do the right thing and tell the King what he had discovered when he returned from the Hunt. Eddard was sure that this was also the reason why Jon Arryn had died as the Lannisters must have poisoned him when he discovered the truth so he had to be careful. But Eddard was an honourable person and he knew that when Robert found out the truth, he would go into a rage and murder his unfaithful wife and her children and Eddard did not want to have the blood of children on his hands. He had already seen what happened to the Targaryen children at the end of Robert's Rebellion and he did not want a repeat of that so he decided that he had to warn the Queen and get her to leave the city so she would not be harmed.

Eddard waited for the Queen to arrive, he had sent a message saying that he needed to speak to her. Cersei eventually arrived and looked at Eddard "You're in pain" she stated

Eddard slowly used his cane to stand himself up "I've had worse my Queen" he replied

Cersei sneered "Perhaps it's time for you to go home, the south doesn't agree with you Starks"

Eddard narrowed his eyes at the Queen "I know the truth that Jon Arryn died for. I know why he was killed"

Cersei stared at the Hand "Do you Lord Stark?" she questioned "Is that why you called me here? To pose me riddles?"

Eddard looked at Cersei's red cheek where Robert had slapped her before he went on his hunt "Has he done this before?" he asked about her bruise as Eddard rubbed his own cheek.

Cersei looked to the side and showed the red bruise on her cheek "Jaime would have killed him if he had seen that. My brother cares about me, he's a thousand times better than your friend."

Eddard now had to tell her that he knew the truth, there was only one possible person who the father of Cersei's children could be "Your brother, or your lover?" he questioned

Eddard and Cersei stared at each other. Cersei knew that Eddard now knew the truth but she defended her actions "The Targaryens wed brothers and sisters together for centuries to keep bloodlines pure, even during the days of the freehold. Jaime and I are more than brother and sister. We shared a womb, we came into this world together, and we belong together."

"Half the Targaryens went mad" Eddard claimed "They say that when a Targaryen is born of incest, the gods flip a coin to decide on whether or not it becomes mad. Our faiths are against incest, they barely accepted the Targaryens." Eddard then glared at her "My son saw you didn't he? He saw you when he was climbing, it was no accident, Jaime pushed him hoping to kill him so he wouldn't tell anyone what he had seen, I knew there was something wrong, and he's climbed the buildings for years and has never fallen"

Cersei then smirked "Do you love your children?" she asked

"With all my heart" Eddard replied

"No more than I love mine" Cersei added

"And they are all Jaime's" Eddard countered "All Baratheons have black hair, your children have blond hair which means they have none of Robert's blood so they have no claim to the throne"

"My three golden lions are much better than any spawn that come from that drunken stag" Cersei hissed "In the rare event where Robert leaves his whores long enough to stumble drunk into my bed, I finish him off in other ways. I drank moon tea, I never wanted to have his seed in me, and he doesn't remember what happens in the morning"

"You've always hated him haven't you?" Eddard questioned

"Hated him?" Cersei stated "When I first met him, I worshipped him; he was a handsome warrior with that hammer who had just won the throne and overthrown a tyrant. Every girl in the seven Kingdoms dreamed of him but he was mine by oath. And when I finally saw him on our wedding day in the Great Sept of Baelor, lean and fierce and Black-Bearded, it was the happiest moment of my life. But that night it all changed, that night he crawled on top of me being so drunk he didn't know who I was. And he whispered in my ear 'Lyanna'. Your sister was a corpse and I was alive but he loved her more than me. He only cared for his dead love who may not have even loved him." Eddard knew that Lyanna didn't love Robert and she had fought against the betrothal contract but Eddard said that Robert would change.

Eddard sighed "When the King returns from the hunt, it is my duty to inform him of what you have done and tell him the truth" he said "You need to be done when that happens, he will murder the lot of you and I won't have innocent blood on my hands. You should flee to the free cities; your father can make sure that you can live a good life. Cause wherever you go, the King's wraith will follow."

Cersei sneered "And what of my wraith lord Stark?" she questioned "Do you really think that I will flee the Seven Kingdoms like a fugitive. You should have taken the realm for yourself, you were here before Robert, and you could have sat on the Iron Throne. Jaime told me what happened the day King's Landing fell, he was sitting on the Iron Throne and you made him give it up. All you had to do was climb the steps, such as sad mistake"

Eddard narrowed his eyes "I've made many mistakes in my life" he claimed "But that wasn't one of them"

"Oh but it was" Cersei smirked "When you play the game of Thrones, you win or you die, there is no middle ground" and with that she walked away and Eddard sighed as he knew that there was going to be children's blood in the red keep when Robert returned

…

In the Stark household, Astrid and Arya were packing their things in their bags so they were ready to start going home to Winterfell.

"So we'll soon be going back to Winterfell" Arya stated "I'll be glad to be back home, I've missed Robb, Bran and Rickon"

"I'll be glad to see them as well" Astrid stated "But I'll also be glad to be out of this city, I don't like where this is going"

"So how are we getting back?" Arya asked "Father wouldn't let us travel along the road, not with the conflict in the Riverlands" They had all heard about what was going on in the Riverlands as Astrid had heard from their father what had happened. Sansa didn't really care which angered Astrid and Arya since their mother's lands were being attacked. Though Astrid knew full well that this had been the fault of their mother as she had taken Tyrion Lannister prisoner which had resulted in Tywin Lannister attacking the Riverlands.

Astrid knew why Tywin Lannister was a man to be wary of, she had read all about the Rains of Castamere and how Tywin had destroyed 2 powerful families root and stem. That showed that Tywin Lannister was a dangerous man.

"Well father said that a ship will be taking us to White Harbour" Astrid explained "From there we will go on to Winterfell with an escort of guards."

"I'll be glad to be home again" Arya smiled "I don't like it here."

"We Starks are made for the North" Astrid claimed "We're not meant for the politics of the South. The last Stark to come south before us was our grandfather Rickard Stark and he was murdered by the Mad King."

"I don't think Sansa's happy about going home" Arya stated

"She isn't" Astrid snorted "She's too much into those dreams and fantasies about dream princes and knights. If she would just stop dreaming then she would realise that this world isn't full of those princes from storybooks. That prick Joffrey nearly got our Direwolves killed and it was only because of me that they weren't" Astrid's Direwolf Huntress walked around the room, she was the only one of the Direwolves with them in the South and Queen Cersei wanted to get rid of the Beast but Astrid threatened to cut the hands of anyone who touched the wolf. Astrid used the wolf to keep Joffrey away from them as the Prince ran away in fear whenever the wolf was near him which made Astrid chuckle.

"I do miss the days when we all got along with each other" Arya sighed

Astrid agreed with her, there was a time when the three sisters along with Sansa's friends Jeyne Poole and Beth Cassel got along with each other but after they started having lessons with Septa Mordane, they drifted apart as Sansa and her friends believed everything about the stories they heard about the South while Astrid and Arya believed more in the warrior woman. "Maybe someday Sansa will finally realise that the South isn't what she heard it is" Astrid suggested

"Maybe but I find that hard to believe when all she talks about is marry a handsome Southern boy"

"Well no matter what she says, father won't let her marry the Prince" Astrid stated "He's already said that the betrothal is off. In fact even Septa Mordane isn't too fond of the idea any more. I saw the Prince give Sansa a necklace and they kissed. Sansa believed it was all real but I know full well that he only did that because his mother told him to."

Arya sighed "Sansa just thinks everything will be fine. One of these days she'll be glad that father called the marriage off"

"But until then we can only hope that she realises that the South is not a dream" Astrid stated "If fact I don't think the Joffrey knows that Sansa is leaving, father refused to let Sansa say goodbye to Joffrey, father seems very tense."

Last night there had been an argument after father had returned from his office. Sansa was still trying to beg father not to take her back to Winterfell but Eddard refused to change his mind. And then he refused to allow Sansa to say goodbye to Joffrey. Sansa had run off shouting that it wasn't fair that Astrid and Arya got to carry on training while Sansa was not allowed to say goodbye to her prince. Astrid had a bad feeling that something was going on and the Prince had something to do with it

"We have to stick together now" Astrid stated "There is something going on here and I don't like it. If our family is to survive then we must be prepared"

…

Eddard was walking through the halls of the Red Keep. Today was the day that Robert would return and he would inform the King of what he had discovered. One of the guards Desmond was with him and he was telling Desmond what to do when his daughters left to go back North.

"You will take them to White Harbour by ship and then to Winterfell by carriage." Eddard explained "I have booked a ship for my daughters, remember I want them to be protected at all times"

"I will make sure that they are safe my lord" Desmond replied

"Ned!" a voice shouted and the two of them turned around to see King Robert's brother Renly running towards them and he looked exhausted "It's Robert; we were all hunting and... boar. Come on!" Renly then ran off. Eddard looked at Desmond in horror before he followed Renly towards King Robert's chambers.

Inside King Robert's chambers, King Robert lay on his bed covered in bandages. He had tried to kill a wild boar in the Kingswood but he had drunk a bit too much wine and had been knocked down by the wild boar. The tusks of the wild boar had dug into his chest and damaged his guts. The Maesters said that he would not live much longer; there was nothing that could be done. Queen Cersei was in the chambers as well as Joffrey who had tears in his eyes. The father and son had never gotten along but Joffrey was still upset about losing his father.

"I should have spent more time with you" Robert groaned "Shown you how to be a man." There were a few moments of silence until Robert spoke again "I was never meant to be a father." Then the door opened and Renly and Eddard walked in "go on" Robert said to his son "You don't want to see this." Joffrey got up and then left the room and Robert looked at his old friend "My fault" he laughed "too much wine, missed my thrust, that boar dug his tusks into me" Eddard rolled the blanket back to reveal the wounds that Robert had sustained. "It stinks, it's stinks like death, don't think I can't smell it" then the king laughed "I paid the bastard back, I drove my knife into its brain" then the king coughed "I want my funeral feast to be the biggest the kingdom's ever saw and I want everyone to taste the boar that got me" Everyone was silent for a while until the King spoke again "Now leave us the lot of you" he ordered "I need to talk to Ned"

"Robert my sweet..." Cersei began

"Out all of you!" the king snapped before he started coughing and then Queen Cersei along with Renly Baratheon, Grand Maester Pycelle and Ser Barristan Selmy who's armour was covered in blood left the room leaving Eddard and Robert alone. Eddard then sat on a chair next to the King's bed.

"You damned fool!" Eddard stated

"Get some paper and ink" Robert ordered "Write down what I say" Eddard reached over and took a piece of parchment that was on the bedside table along with a feather quill and ink. He placed the items on a wooden board and then began writing down what the King said "In the name of Robert of House Baratheon, King of the... ah you know how it goes, fill in the damned titles" Eddard wrote down Robert's titles "I hereby command Eddard of House Stark, titles, titles to serve as Lord regent and protector of the realm until my son Joffrey comes of age" Eddard wrote down what the King said but wrote 'my rightful heir' in place of Joffrey. Eddard decided that he would let Robert live his last hours in peace so he wouldn't tell him of what he had discovered. "Give it over" the King ordered and Eddard handed the paper over to him and then he signed the paper before handing it back to Eddard "Give it to the council after I'm dead." He then sighed "At least they'll say that I did this right, this one thing, you will rule now, you'll hate the job more than I did. But you'll do it well. The girl Daenerys, you were right. My brother, Varys, Littlefinger all worthless. No one wanted to tell me no but you, only you, call off the assassination if she still lives."

"I will your Grace" Eddard replied "I'll do everything to honour your memory"

Robert then laughed "my memory, King Robert Baratheon who won the Iron Throne and became very fat and drunk, murdered by a pig" he then coughed again "Now give me something for the pain and then leave me to die"

Eddard sighed as he left the room to the council, he looked at the Grand Maester "Give the King some milk of the poppy" he ordered and then Pycelle and Renly went into the room.

"The king was so drunk that he wasn't concentrating" Barristan stated "Too much wine, he ordered us to step aside; there was nothing I could do. I failed him"

"Who gave the King his wine?" Varys asked

"His squire" Barristan stated "From the king's own wineskin"

"The Lannister boy?" Eddard questioned

"Yes" Varys stated "A loyal lad, it's his duty to make sure the King had refreshments. I do hope he's not blaming himself for what's happened."

Eddard widened his eyes as he now realised what had happened, the Queen had given Lancel stronger wine to make sure that the King was so drunk that he would be injured and then die so Eddard wouldn't tell him what he had discovered. But now Eddard had to tell them about what the King had ordered "The Targaryen Girl, the King has ordered the assassination be called off"

"I'm afraid it is too late for that" Varys stated "The girl is likely dead by now"

...

Over in the Stark Household, Arya and Astrid had finished packing their bags ready for going home and now they were preparing to have one last spar before they head home. But then they heard the loud bells ringing "What is that?" Arya asked "Why are the bells ringing"

Astrid looked at her "Those bells are being rung because a ruler has died" she stated as she had heard about what had happened to the King. The servants had been talking about how King Robert had been wounded while hunting "It means that the King is dead."

 **Chapter end: Well another chapter finished. I wasn't able to do much work last week as I had studying to do, my exams are coming up and I also had coursework to do so updates won't be that often now but I will update when I can. This chapter was also meant to be longer but I decided to add in an extra chapter with the next bits.**


	10. The Coup

**The Coup:**

Eddard Stark was in his office and he knew that now he had a problem with King Robert's death. He had originally planned to tell him the truth about what he had discovered about Queen Cersei and all three of King Robert's children being bastards born of incest between the Queen and her brother. But Eddard wanted his friend to die in peace so he chose not to tell him, he had even written 'Rightful Heir' instead of 'Joffrey' on the King's final orders for when he died which named Eddard as Lord Protector of the Realm which meant he would rule until Joffrey came of age. But Joffrey was not the rightful heir to the throne since he had no King's blood in him. The rightful heir was King Robert's oldest brother, Stannis Baratheon who was on Dragonstone at the minute so Eddard needed to send him a message.

"Lord Stark" a voice called which distracted Eddard from his thoughts and he turned to see Lord Renly Baratheon walking towards him "Could I have a word in private."

Eddard nodded and allowed Renly into his office. When he came in, he stood in front of Eddard's desk and Eddard could see that he seemed rather anxious "What can I do for you Lord Renly?" he asked

Renly smiled at him "My brother named you Lord Protector of the Realm upon his death did he not" Renly asked

Eddard nodded, while he wasn't happy about this as he had no understanding of ruling the South, he knew that someone had to keep the power hungry Lannisters in line. Eddard always did his duty and it was his duty to make sure that the Kingdoms did not fall into Chaos.

"Well you being named Lord Protector won't matter to Cersei" Renly stated "She will use her power to rule instead, she's a danger to the Kingdoms, give me one hour and I can put 100 swords at your command."

Eddard looked at him "And what would I do with these 100 swords?" he asked

"Strike" Renly replied "Tonight while the castle asleep we can get the children away from the Queen and into our custody. Whether you are Lord Protector of the Realm or not, whoever holds the King will hold the Kingdom"

Eddard rubbed his chin; he could use these 100 swords to help prevent Joffrey from being named King and allow Stannis to be crowned. But this was not honourable and it went against everything he stood for, so he sighed "No" he replied "I won't dishonour the King's memory by spilling blood in the Red Keep and dragging frightened children from their beds."

Renly looked at him in disbelief "Lord Stark, if we don't act now then it will be too late for you, me and everyone we care about"

Eddard looked at him "And what of Stannis Baratheon?" he asked

Renly shrugged his shoulders "What about my brother?"

Eddard looked at Renly in the eyes "By the laws of Gods and Men, Stannis Baratheon is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. The children are all bastards born of incest which makes King Robert's brother the rightful heir to the throne."

Renly snorted "Stannis has the personality of a lobster. The people would not love him as their King but they love me. I could make a good King, besides my brother has no support apart from a few Houses in the Narrow Sea"

Eddard couldn't believe what he was hearing, Renly Baratheon was thinking about committing treason and overthrowing the rightful ruler, he knows that Stannis knew more about ruling that Renly as he had seen that Renly didn't take his duty as Master of Laws very seriously. Eddard narrowed his eyes at Renly "No!" he snapped "I won't have any part in this treason, Stannis knows more about ruling the Seven Kingdoms that you do and he is the rightful heir."

Renly looked at him "So be it" he replied before he left Eddard office and closed the door. Eddard sighed as now he was right in the middle of a power struggle. But he had to support the rightful heir to the throne and so he wrote a letter to Dragonstone which told Stannis what he had discovered.

Later, Eddard finished writing the letter to Stannis which he then folded and poured melting wax from a candle on. Then he stamped the letter with his Direwolf seal and he looked at one of his guards "You will sail to Dragonstone tonight." He said and then he handed him the letter "You will place this in the hands of Stannis Baratheon, not his steward, not his captain of the Guards, not his wife, only Stannis himself.

It was then that the door opened and the guards let the Master of Coin Petyr Baelish enter his office "Lord Stark, you asked to see me"

Eddard sighed and then he nodded and then his guards left leaving him and Lord Baelish alone. "My lord protector" Baelish stated as he gave a small bow

Eddard sighed and he leaned back in his chair "The king has no trueborn sons" he stated "Joffrey and Tommen, are Ser Jaime's bastard sons. Born of incest between him and the queen."

"So when the King dies?" Baelish questioned

"The throne passes to his brother Stannis" Eddard stated "By the laws of Gods and men he is the rightful heir to the throne"

"So it would seem" Baelish stated and then he walked to the balcony "Unless..."

Eddard interrupted him "There is no unless" he snapped "He is the rightful heir, nothing can change that"

"And he cannot take the throne without your help" Baelish stated "You would be wise to deny him help. He has very little support and Tywin's gold will prevent some houses from turning against his daughter. Down south they fear Tywin and his wrath. Stannis has very little support and there is no point supporting someone with little support and has no chance in winning the throne"

Eddard turned to Baelish and narrowed his eyes "Do you have a shed of honour?" he asked

Baelish smirked "You are the Hand of the King and now the Protector of the Realm, you have all the power now, all you have to do is reach out and take it, make peace with the Lannisters, release the imp and marry your daughter to Joffrey. We've got plenty of time to finish Stannis and if Joffrey proves too much of a problem then we simply revel his little secret and seek Lord Renly to take his place

Eddard narrowed his eyes "We?" he questioned

"You'll need someone to share these burdens with I assure you" Baelish stated "My price would be modest"

Eddard looked at him "What you suggest his treason" he stated

Baelish smirked "Only if we lose" he stated

"Make peace with the Lannisters you say?" Eddard questioned as he brought over the Valyrian Steel dagger that had been used to try and murder Bran, he then placed it on his desk "The people who tried to murder my son"

"We only make peace with our enemies my lord" Baelish stated "That's why it's called making peace"

Eddard knew that this was not something he wanted to get involved with, he was an honourable lord and he would not take power that was not rightfully his "No" he stated "I won't do it, I won't bring my family into this and put my daughters in danger"

"So it will be Stannis and war?" Baelish questioned

"There is no other choice" Eddard stated "He is the heir"

"So then why did you call me here?" Baelish asked

Eddard looked at him "When Catelyn came here you promised her that you would help me. The queen a dozen knights and a hundred men at arms, which is enough to wipe out what remains of what is left of my men. I need the help of the Gold cloaks to secure the throne for Stannis. The city watch is 2000 strong and sworn to defend the King's Peace."

Baelish smirked and shook his head "Look at you, you know what you want me to do" he stated as he sat down "You know what has to be done. But it's not honourable so the words stick in your throat. When the queen proclaims one King and the Hand proclaims another, who's peace do the Gold Cloaks protect, who do they follow?" Baelish was silent and then he smirked and revealed the answer "The man who pays them."

...

Later, Eddard was walking through the corridors of the Red Keep. Baelish would get the City Watch on his side and then they would secure the throne quickly so Stannis could sail to King's Landing and take the throne before the Kingdoms plunged into war. Eddard did not like doing this but there was no other choice as he had to secure the throne for Stannis and he wanted to do it with as little bloodshed as he could.

"Lord Stark" a voice called and Eddard turned to see the Red Keep's steward approaching

Eddard then looked as his men drew their swords "No" he said to his men "Let the man speak"

"King Joffrey and the Queen Regent demand your presence in the throne room" the steward stated

"King Joffrey?" Eddard questioned

"Good King Robert is dead" the Steward stated "May the gods give him rest"

Eddard stared at the man and he now knew that it was time. He had to secure the Iron Throne for Stannis and prevent Westeros from plunging into civil war so he made his way over to the Red Keep Throne room. He soon arrived at the courtyard where his guards along with Varys and Baelish were waiting for him. "Well?" Eddard asked

"It is done" Baelish replied "The city watch is yours"

"Good" Eddard nodded and then he looked around "Is Lord Renly joining us?"

Varys spoke "I fear that Lord Renly has left the city" he replied "He rode an hour before dawn with Ser Loras Tyrell and fifty retainers. They were last seen galloping south in some haste"

Eddard sighed and then he walked into the Red Keep with his guards following him. He met up with the commander of the Gold Cloaks, Janos Slynt "We stand behind you Lord Stark" Janos stated

Then the doors opened and Eddard and his men walked into the throne room. The room was filled with Gold Cloaks and the Kingsguard stood in front of the Iron Throne. Joffrey sat on the Iron Throne with his mother standing next to him.

"All hail his Grace King Joffrey" the steward spoke up "First of his name, King of the Andals and the First men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and protector of the Realm"

Joffrey stared at Eddard as he approached the Throne "Inform the royal council to make all the arrangements for my coronation" he ordered "I wished to be crowned within the fortnight. Today I shall accept oaths of fealty from my loyal councillors"

Eddard sighed and looked at Ser Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard "Ser Barristan" he called "I believe no one here can question your honour" he then handed him the parchment which held King Robert's final degree before his death.

Barristan took the sealed parchment and looked at it and saw King Robert's seal "The Seal of King Robert" he stated "Unbroken" he then broke the seal and read the message "It seems that King Robert has named Lord Eddard Stark as the regent and Protector of the Realm until Joffrey comes of age."

Cersei smiled at Barristan "Let me see that" Barristan handed her the letter. Cersei looked at the letter before smirking as she tore the letter up.

"Those were King Robert's final orders!" Barristan gasped

"We have a new King now" Cersei smirked "Now he needs those Oaths of fealty"

Eddard narrowed his eyes "Joffrey is not the rightful heir to the Throne"

Joffrey's face turned red with rage "LIAR!" he yelled "I AM THE SON OF KING ROBERT AND THE NEW KING!"

"I will not swear fealty to someone who has none of the King's blood in him" Eddard stated

"You condemn yourself with your own words from your mouths" Cersei smirked "Ser Barristan, seize the traitors"

Ser Barristan looked conflicted, he was meant to follow orders from the King but what Eddard said made him think, he remembered his time serving the Mad King and the things he did when he ruled. Eddard's men all drew their swords ready to protect their lord.

"Ser Barristan is a good man" Eddard stated "A loyal man, do him no harm"

Cersei scoffed "You think he stands alone?" she questioned as Sandor Clegane drew his sword as well.

"KILL THEM" Joffrey ordered as he stood up from the Iron Throne, his face red with rage "KILL THEM ALL, I COMMAND IT!"

The Lannister men alone with the Kingsguard drew their swords as a fight was about to happen. Eddard was thankful that he had the Gold Cloaks on his side as his men would never be able to take on the Lannister forces.

"Commander" Eddard turned to Janos Slynt "Take the Queen and her children into custody. Escort them back to the Royal Apartments and keep them under guard"

Janos nodded to Eddard and turned to his men "Men of the Watch" he called, then the Gold Cloaks got their swords and spears into attack position and were ready to fight. There were a few moments of silence and then Janos shouted "NOW!"

Then one of Eddard's men groaned as a spear was driven through his stomach by a Gold Cloak. Eddard looked around to see the Gold Cloaks were attacking his own men instead. Eddard could only watch in horror as his men were killed before his eyes, but then he felt a knife at his throat.

Petyr Baelish sneered at Eddard as he held the knife around his throat "You were right not to trust me" he sneered.

Quickly all of Eddard's men were dead and Eddard was forced to his knees "You have committed treason against your King" Cersei sneered "And now you will pay the price."

Joffrey turned to Janos Slynt "You have done your King a great service" he stated "You shall be well rewarded"

"Thank you my King" Janos smiled

Joffrey then continued "But now I have another task for you" he stated "Take your men to the Stark Household and kill everyone there, I will have a message sent to the rest of the Realm what happens with traitors, but bring me the traitor's three daughters especially the oldest one Astrid, I have plans for them" he then looked at Eddard "Now take this traitor to the Black cells"

Eddard watched in horror as the Gold Cloaks grabbed him and then dragged him away as he watched the Gold Cloaks leave the hall to go over to the Stark Household.

…

In the House where the Stark Household were living, the household members were packing things away for the Stark Girls when they head home later that day. They had no idea of what had just happened in the Throne room so when the Lannister guards and Gold Cloaks arrived, they were caught completely by surprise. The Guards at the gates were quickly overrun and quickly killed and then hundreds of soldiers rushed through the courtyard to look for any members of the Stark Household. Their orders were to kill every member but leave the Stark Girls alive and capture them.

Near the house itself, Vayon Poole, Lord Eddard steward was busy overseeing several servants packing the belongings of the Stark girls onto a cart "Careful" he said "Septa Mordane will have my head if anything is damage" But then they heard shouting and they all looked to see several Lannister guards charging towards them. Before anyone could ask what was going on, the soldiers suddenly attacked and killed them all, Vayon Poole was killed when a spear was driven through his chest and then the soldiers charged into the building.

…

In the building, Sansa Stark and Septa Mordane were walking through a corridor completely unaware of what was going on outside. Sansa was still upset that her betrothal to Joffrey would not go head and that she had to go back North. Septa Mordane didn't mind as she had lost all interest in Joffrey and could clearly see that the kiss he had given Sansa before was not real and that he had done it on the orders of his mother. They would be leaving today but there was no sign of Astrid or Arya.

"Your sisters knew that they were leaving today" Mordane grumbled "How could they forget?"

"They didn't forget" Sansa snorted "They are training again. Arya always comes back with bruises, she's so clumsy and Astrid shouldn't be teaching her how to fight, ladies don't fight"

But before Sansa could continue, they heard banging nearby and Mordane held Sansa back "Shush!" she ordered "Go back to your room and lock the door, don't open it for anyone"

"What's going on?" Sansa asked with a bit of fear in her voice

"Just Go!" Mordane ordered and Sansa turned around and ran away though her long dress made it difficult. When Sansa was out of sight, the door was forced open and Mordane walked forward to see several Lannister guards led by Joffrey's sworn sword Sandor Clegane with them. Mordane just calmly walked forward towards the guard. Then Sandor nodded and then the guards rushed forward where Sandor slashed Mordane across the chest with his sword and the Septa collapsed to the floor bleeding. Mordane then watched as the soldiers rushed through the corridors as her vision went black and she saw no more.

…

In another part of the building, Astrid and Arya were also completely unaware of what was going on outside. Astrid was dressed in her leather armour while Arya wore her boy's tunic and her hair was completely messed up while Astrid's was in a messy knot. After a while of training, Astrid had shown Arya how to start attacking her opponents by thrusting forward and slashing high from above to break an opponent's block with enough force. Arya was unable to break Astrid's block as she was stronger than her. They fought for a while until Astrid slashed her wooded sword and knocked Arya's sword away "And your dead" she smirked

Arya groaned "This is no good" she groaned "I'll never be as good as you"

"You will in time" Arya stated "Remember I've had years of training while you have just started and soon you will develop your skills and become better at them. Soon you will be the finest swordswoman in the Seven Kingdoms and you may become better than me."

Arya smiled at her sister but then they heard the door bang open and the two girls turned to see the Kingsguard Ser Meryn Trant along with several Lannister men entering the room. "Arya Stark, Astrid Stark, come with us, your father wants to see you" Meryn stated

Arya looked confused but Astrid narrowed her eyes "And if father wanted to see us, why did he send Lannister men to collect us instead of his own guards."

Meryn made an excuse "You father and all his men our busy at the moment"

Astrid narrowed her eyes at Meryn "Father did not send you!" she spat "He would never trust Lannister men with a task like this to collect his daughters."

Meryn looked at his men "Take them by force!" he ordered

One of the Lannister men walked forward but Astrid pointed her wooden sword at him making the guard laugh "Put that stick down girl"

Astrid didn't reply but then she swung the wooden sword and struck the Lannister guard in the face. Then she drew a dagger from her belt and buried it in the guard's neck. Everyone jumped back in shock as Astrid took the knife out; she then dropped her wooden sword and took the Lannister guard's sword from his belt as the guard collapsed to the floor. "Arya go now, het out of here, I'll hold these idiots off"

Arya looked at her sister in horror "But what about you?" she questioned "I can't just leave you here"

"Just go Arya!" Astrid ordered "I don't know what is going on but I won't let these idiots hurt you."

"But…" Arya stated

"GO!" Astrid shouted

Arya felt a tear fall down her face and then she turned and ran from the room.

"Oh no you don't girl!" another Lannister guard shouted "Come back here" the guard then ran towards her only for a knife to embed itself in his neck which had been thrown by Astrid and a second guard collapsed.

Astrid pointed her sword at the Lannisters "So, who's next!" she sneered.

…

Arya ran through the corridors in the Stark Household and was shocked by the bodies of the Household, the guards and the servants, these were people who she had grown up with in Winterfell and now they were dead. She swore that she would make the Lannisters pay for this. She soon came across a cart which had her personal things on and so she went to get them, her sword Needle which had been given to her by Jon was there and she thought she was going to need it.

So she bent down to grab her sword but was unaware of a stable boy approaching her from behind "Here she is!" he shouted

Arya turned to see a fat chubby stable boy approaching her, he looked to be the same age as her "Go away!" she hissed

"Where do you think you're going?" the boy questioned "You're not leaving are you?"

"Help me with this" Arya stated "My father is the Hand of the King. He'll reward you"

The boy grabbed a pitchfork from a stack of straw "She'll reward me" the boy replied "The queen for your capture. Now come here you"

The boy grabbed her shoulder "I said stay away!" Arya hissed and then she turned around with Needle in her hands and the blade went right through the boy's chest. The boy's eyes widened in shock along with Arya's. Arya quickly withdrew the blade and then the boy collapsed. Arya looked at her hands which were covered in blood and then she looked at the stable boy's body. She had just killed someone and it was someone who was around the same age as her. She knew that she may have to kill someone at some point in her life but she never expected it to be when she was still quiet young. She then heard a growl and turned to see Astrid's Direwolf Huntress nearby "Huntress!" she gasped and she ran over to the wolf and the wolf jumped into her arms. While Huntress was Astrid's Direwolf, the wolf had also formed a close friendship with Arya. Arya looked to see a dead Lannister guard with his throat torn out so Arya thought that Huntress must have torn the soldier's throat out. She then sighed "Come on, we have to go, they're killing everyone. Astrid wants us to run, we have to go now" The wolf whined but understood that they had to leave and so the two of them made a run for it to escape the massacre. She knew a way to escape which was through the hidden tunnels that she had previously been in when she was exploring and spotted the two people plotting before. So she and Huntress went to find these tunnels so she could escape.

…

Meanwhile, Sansa had fled to her room which she had cleared of all her personal belongings which were to be taken back to Winterfell. She quickly barred the door to prevent anyone from entering and she hid by her bed. She had no idea what was going on but now she was very scared. She had no idea what to do and soon she heard someone banging against the door as they tried to force the door open. After a short while the door was knocked off its hinges and fell to the floor where Sansa saw several soldiers dressed in Lannister uniforms led by Prince Joffrey's sworn sword Sandor Clegane.

"Why are you here?" Sansa asked in a scared and weak voice "The queen will hear of this along with Prince Joffrey"

"Who do you think sent us here?" Sandor smirked "Now come along little dove, the new King and his mother want to see you"

…

Back over with Astrid, she was still fighting the Lannister soldiers as was going well against them. She had knocked one back before slashing his back with the sword she had taken from one of the soldiers. She stabbed another one in the leg which made him collapse. Then she grabbed another sword and fought with two swords which allowed her to fight 2 soldiers at once. She dodged one's attack and then slashed his neck with her swords and then stabbed another one in the gut.

"Come one men!" Meryn hissed "How hard is it to fight one girl"

"I am no girl" Astrid sneered as she swung her swords "I am a wolf from the North. A girl who fights and it will take more than some common soldiers to defeat me"

"Enough!" Meryn shouted as more soldiers entered the room "Get her"

The soldiers charged at her and Astrid was soon able to kill two more but now she was getting tired and overrun. She may have been a skilled fighter but there was only so much one person could do against a whole group of well trained, well-armed soldiers. Eventually, she lost one of her swords when it was knocked from her but she still carried on fighting and she charged forward and shoved her sword into the chest of a Lannister soldier. But the forced knocked both of them to the ground and then another soldier charged into Astrid which knocked her off the Lannister soldier and onto the ground. The soldiers then took turns kicking her making her groan each time. Astrid had killed a good number of the Lannister soldiers and the remaining ones wanted revenge.

"All right that's enough!" Meryn hissed "The King wants her alive." Two guards grabbed Astrid shoulders and picked her up and forced her to her knees. Meryn then bent down and looked at her face "And I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with you" he sneered and then he punched her hard in the face which knocked her from the soldiers grips and knocked her to the floor where her vision went black as she fell unconscious. "Take her out of here and take her to the guest rooms of the Red Keep." He ordered as he left. The soldiers then grabbed Astrid and then they began to drag her out of the Stark Household where the other soldiers were searching for survivors.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Well, this took me a while because I was busy studying for my exams, updates are going to be quite slow for a while but I've now finished this chapter. The theme is going to get darker for a while with this story so expect some horrible scenes in upcoming chapters. Now Astrid is going to be tested on her survival skills in the next chapters. The next chapter will take a while because I have to study for my exams..**


	11. Hostage

**Hostage:**

Eddard couldn't tell how long it had been since his imprisonment. After his arrest he had been thrown into the Black Cells of the Red Keep. The Red Keep had four levels of dungeons and Eddard had been thrown in the third level which was the worst cells for the worst criminals. These cells had no windows and had thick oak wooden doors. There was nothing in the cell except for some straw on the floor which smelt of urine and poo. There wasn't even a bucket for waste. The cells were known as the Black cells because there was no light at all so the cells were pitch black. That was why Eddard had lost track of time since he couldn't tell if it was night or day when he managed to wake up but could only see black.

But this time someone came, Eddard saw his door open and someone walked in with a torch. Because it had been a while since Eddard had seen any light, the light from the torch burnt his eyes until they adjusted "Lord Stark, you must be thirsty" the man said as he gave Eddard a waterskin.

Eddard looked at the man and saw that it was Lord Varys, the master of whisperers. He was no longer dressed in his robes and was dressed in leather clothing with a leather hat over his bald head "Varys?" he questioned

Varys looked at him and then at the waterskin "I promise you, this isn't poisoned" to prove his point, he removed the cork and then drank a mouthful of water "Though no one ever trusts me" he then held the waterskin to Eddard and Eddard slowly took the waterskin and drank from it "No so much if I were you" Varys added "I would save some, men have been known to die of thirst in these cells"

"What of my daughters?" Eddard demanded

"Your youngest one seems to have escaped along with that wolf that was brought to the city" Varys stated "They found one of the guard's with his throat torn out. No one has been able to find them, not even my little birds."

"And what about Sansa and Astrid?" Eddard asked

"Both have been captured" Varys stated "Sansa remains engaged to Joffrey and is locked up in the Red Keep under guard. Astrid has also been locked up in the Red Keep, she put up quite a fight, she killed several guards before they overpowered her, she's unharmed though, just a few bruises from her beating"

Eddard sighed "I should have known that Astrid would fight, she's always been one who would fight when she wanted o fight and protect her family"

"Cersei has ordered the guards to keep an eye on Astrid at all times though she is currently with her sister. But I'm afraid that the rest of your household are all dead except for your steward's daughter. It grieves me that so many are dead, I hate the sight of blood."

Eddard then narrowed his eyes at Varys "You watched as my men were slaughtered and did nothing"

"And I would again" Varys stated "I was unarmed, un-armoured and surrounded by men with Lannister swords. When you look at me, do you see a hero?" Eddard sighed and then drank again from the waterskin. Then Varys asked him another question "What madness led you to confront the Queen when you learnt the truth about her children's birth"

Eddard sighed "The Madness of Mercy" he stated "That she might save her children, Robert would have killed them when he learnt the truth and I did not want to see more dead children, not after what happened to the Targaryen Children, they didn't deserve to die.

"Ah the children" Varys stated "It's always the innocent who suffer. It wasn't the wine or the boar that killed the king. The wine slowed him down and the boar ripped him open but it was your mercy that killed the King" Eddard now realised that the queen used Lancel to make the King even more drunk so the Boar would kill him "I trust that you know that you're a dead man Lord Eddard"

Eddard sighed "The Queen can't kill me" he stated "My wife hold her brother"

Varys shook his head "Tyrion Lannister has been set free after a trial by combat at the Eyrie" he stated

Eddard then narrowed his eyes at Varys "If that's true then slit my throat and be done with it"

Varys shook his head "Not today my Lord" he said and then he stood up "And I will keep an eye on Astrid, the King has taken a liking to her wild attitude, he claims that he will find ways to break her spirit"

Eddard widened his eyes in horror at that; if Joffrey tried to lay his hands on Astrid then Astrid would fight back which could get her in danger. Then he asked Varys something else "Tell me Lord Varys, who do you truly serve?"

"The realm my Lord" Varys replied as he then left the cell closing the door behind him.

...

In the Red Keep, Sansa Stark sat in a room with her friend Jeyne Poole. Sansa had no idea what was going on expect that a bunch of soldiers had suddenly arrived at the Stark Household and suddenly started attacking and killing all of the members of the Household. Sansa had no idea what was going on but afterwards, she along with Jeyne had been taken to the Red Keep and placed in a guest room under guard. They were not allowed to leave the room and a maid would bring them food. The room they were staying in was quite large as it was not just Sansa and Jeyne that were in the room; Astrid Stark was lying on one of the beds. The Guards had dragged her in shortly afterwards; she had been beaten up and was unconscious. They had thrown her onto the bed and then left laughing saying that she was a wild one and the King would find some way to tame her wild nature. Sansa couldn't see that happening but she was now concerned for Astrid's safely, she may not have gotten along with Astrid but she didn't want to see her get hurt.

Sansa heard Astrid groan and then she sat up on the bed. Astrid rubbed her head and looked around and saw that she was in some kind of guest room in the Red Keep. She hadn't been in the Red Keep at all during her stay at King's Landing; she had spent her time at the Stark Household in the estate. Astrid looked to see Sansa and Jeyne were in the room with her.

"Astrid" Sansa gasped "I see you've woken up, how are you?"

"How do you think I feel?" Astrid hissed "I just got beaten up by a bunch of Lannister men; I always hated those red armoured men with no honour"

"Just what is going on?" Sansa asked "I don't know what is going on except that we've been taken here and we're not allowed to leave."

Astrid looked at her "My guess is that your so called Dream Prince has decided to arrest father for some reason and then slaughter our household"

"No that can't be true" Sansa hissed "Prince Joffrey would never do that"

Astrid had enough and was able to get out of bed and slap Sansa on her cheek. Sansa held a hand to her cheek and looked at her sister with a shocked look on her face. But she didn't say anything when she saw the furious look on her face "SHUT UP ABOUT THAT PRAT OF A PRINCE!" She shouted "Joffrey is not your dream Prince, this place is not full of your dreams, this place is dangerous and full of backstabbing power hungry people like Queen Cersei. Joffrey most likely order the massacre of our household, people who we have known for years are now dead because of him. That shows that Joffrey is not your dream Prince or rather not your dream king since he is now King."

Jeyne looked at Astrid "What of my father?" she asked "Do you know where he is?"

Astrid shook her head "The most likely outcome is that he's dead" she stated "Those guards didn't spare anyone except for us. We're his daughters which makes us valuable hostages against Robb." She then looked at Jeyne "In all honesty, you're not really valuable to the Lannisters but since your Sansa's friend, my guess is that they're using you as leverage against her."

Sansa looked at Astrid "What of Arya is she okay?"

Astrid looked at her "When the Lannister Guards confronted us, I told her to run, if she hasn't been found then she must be hiding, Arya knows how to hide in the streets, she'll be fine." Astrid then looked at Sansa and Jeyne in the eye "I may not like you two but we may have to set our differences aside and stick together. We're now in a dangerous situation and the only way we can survive is if we stay together."

Sansa had no time to replay as the door opened and several guards walked in. They were led by Lancel Lannister, a cousin of the Queen and King Robert's former squire. "Lady Sansa Stark" he stated "Queen Cersei has ordered you to meet with her in her chambers" then he looked at Astrid "And King Joffrey has ordered that you be made presentable and then meet with him for a private talk. These are the orders from the King and you cannot refuse them"

Normally Astrid would refuse all together but she knew that she couldn't this time as she had to survive. So she just sighed as she went with some of the guards as they escorted her to another part of the Red Keep.

...

The Lannister men had taken Sansa to the Queen's room. Cersei sat at a desk with Grand Maester Pycelle along with Varys and Baelish standing behind her. Sansa sat in front of Cersei's desk

"Your father has proven to be an awful traitor my dear" Varys stated

"King Robert's body was still warm when Lord Eddard began plotting to steal Robert's rightful throne"

Sansa looked at them shocked "He wouldn't do that" she gasped "He knows how much I love Joffrey, he wouldn't" she then looked back at the queen "Please your Grace, there must be a mistake, send for him he'll tell you. The King was his friend, my father has never been interested in the throne, and he would never try to usurp the throne."

"Sansa, sweet ling you are innocent of any wrong doings we know that" Cersei stated "Yet you are the daughter of a traitor, how can I allow you to marry my son"

"A child born from a traitor's seed is no fit consort for our King" Pycelle stated "She's a sweet thing now your Grace, but in ten years who knows what treason she may hatch"

"No I won't I'll be a good queen to Joffrey, you'll see" Sansa shouted back in response "I'll be a queen just like you, I promise, I won't hatch anything"

"The girl is innocent your grace" Baelish stated "She should be given a chance to prove her loyalty"

There were a few moments of silence and then Cersei sighed and looked at Sansa "Little Dove, you must write to your mother Lady Catelyn and your brother, the eldest. What's his name?"

"Robb" Sansa replied

"Word of your father's arrest will reach him soon no doubt" Cersei stated "Best it comes from you. If you would help your father, urge your brother to keep the peace. Tell him to come down to King's Landing and swear fealty to King Joffrey"

Sansa was silent, she knew that this was being against her family, Astrid would never agree to this but she knew that there may not be any other choice "If I could see my father, talk to him about..." Sansa look stopped when she saw the look on the Queen's face.

"You disappoint me child" Cersei stated "We have told you of your father's treason, why would you want to speak to a traitor?"

"I only meant that, what will happen to him?" Sansa asked

Cersei looked at her "That depends on what your brother does. And it will depend on your" she then held up a feather quill and handed it to Sansa. Sansa picked the quill up and prepared to start writing. But then another thought came to her.

"And what of my sister Astrid?" she asked "What will happen to her."

"She will be fine as long as she behaves" Cersei stated "As long as your brother swears fealty to the King, neither you nor her shall be harmed." She then pushed the parchment closer to her "Now write, you need to send that message fast" Sansa then put some ink on the quill and began writing.

...

At Winterfell's Great Hall, Robb Stark was in the Hall with Maester Luwin and his friend Theon Greyjoy. Luwin had just arrived with a letter from King's Landing and he told Robb that it was important and it involved his father. Robb quickly looked over the letter and was shocked to discover that his father had been arrested for treason at King's Landing and his sisters Astrid and Sansa had been imprisoned in the Red Keep as hostages. Robb could not believe what he was reading and the letter was from Sansa as well.

"Treason?" Robb questioned after he finished reading the letter and then he looked at Maester Luwin "Sansa wrote this?"

"It is your sister's hand" Luwin stated "But it's the queen's words. You have been summoned to King's Landing to swear fealty to the new King"

Robb narrowed his eyes "Joffrey puts my father in chains, he threatens my sisters and now he wants his arse kissed?"

Luwin sighed "This is a royal command my lord" he stated "Should you refuse this command then you will be branded a traitor to the crown"

Robb stared at Luwin "I will not refuse." He stated "If his Grace summons me to King's Landing then I will go to King's Landing. But I won't be going alone." His face then turned serious "Call the Banners"

"All of them my Lord?" Luwin questioned

Robb nodded "They've all sworn Oaths to defend my father have they not"

"They have" Luwin answered

"Then we'll see what their words are worth" Robb stated and Luwin nodded and left to get the ravens ready to send messages across the North to all the Bannermen. Robb then sat down on the table next to his friend Theon Greyjoy.

Theon chuckled "You afraid?" he asked

Robb looked down and saw that his hand was shaking "I must be" he answered

"Good" Theon stated

Robb looked at him "How is that good?"

"Because it means that you are not stupid" Theon answered

Later that day, many ravens were sent from Winterfell to send Robb's message that the Bannermen were to come to Winterfell to prepare to march south to free Lord Eddard Stark.

...

Back in King's Landing, Astrid felt totally silly and stupid, and not because of her attitude but because of how she looked. She had been told that she could not meet the King with the way she looked. So she had been given to a few maids of the Red Keep who had made her presentable. But Astrid believed that she looked stupid with how she now looked. The Maids had washed her body with rich soaps and oils so now her skin was clean and the tangles in her hair were gone. When she lived in the North, Astrid would have washed herself but now other ladies had done it and they took a very long time with her and they kept pouring water over and over her again and again. But now she also looked like a southern lady with how she had been dressed, her hair had been tied up into a fancy hairstyle like the Queen had done with her hair. Then she had been dressed up like a doll, the corset she had been forced to wear pushed her chest in so tight that it made it difficult to breath but it also pushed her breasts out further. The dress made it even worse, the dress was crimson red or Lannister Red as Astrid called it. She dress may have been longed sleeved but it spread out at her legs which made it difficult to walk since she had never worn a dress like this before. But the worst part was that it showed off the top of her breasts. Astrid had always tied her breasts up with cloth so that they did not bother her when she wore her leather armour, but now they were on full display and she had already heard some leery comments from the guards about her breasts. Overall, Astrid felt completely silly with how she looked and she suspected that King Joffrey had ordered her to look like this so she would be uncomfortable.

When the maids were finished with her, she was escorted to the King's Chambers by Lancel Lannister and Joffrey's sworn shield, Sandor Clegane. They entered the room and Joffrey was sat on his bed holding his crossbow. "Leave us" he ordered "I want to speak with the lady alone"

Lancel and Sandor obeyed and left the room though they stood outside guarding the room. Joffrey then sneered at Astrid "I have to say, you're much more beautiful when you don't look like an animal" Astrid just narrowed her eyes at him for the insult "I mean just look at you" Joffrey continued "you look like a completely different woman now after the Maids cleaned you up. And now that your father has committed treason against the crown that means he is no longer around to protect you so maybe I can teach you a lesson for what you did to me at the Ruby Ford"

Joffrey put the crossbow down on his table and walked over to her. Astrid continued to narrow her eyes at Joffrey but then widened them when Joffrey's hand was on one of her breasts and squeezed it tight. Astrid gasped and quickly slapped his hand away and then glared at him "Don't touch me!" she snarled "Don't you dare touch me there, I am not one of your playthings! I am Astrid Stark of Winterfell, daughter of Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. I won't be touched like that, not even by a king"

Joffrey just laughed "You can't rely on your father to protect you now. He's a traitor to the crown and will be punished"

"I don't believe you!" Astrid snapped "My father was your father's friend and he would never commit treason. He was never interested in the crown so I know that something is going on."

"Well whatever it is, it doesn't matter now" Joffrey laughed "He is still a traitor to the crown and I cannot have traitors in my Kingdom"

Astrid then spat in his face "If you hurt him then it won't only be me that you have to worry about. The Northern Lords will never accept you and my brother will come down with an army"

"Well I still have most of the Kingdom united with me" Joffrey laughed "And I should punish you for what you just did but mother says that a King should never strike a lady. Besides, I want you to be pretty for court. There the fate of your father will be decided" then he grabbed Astrid's hair and made her look at him in the eyes "And you will obey my commands because if you don't, well, we'll just see how long your spirit will last."

Astrid narrowed her eyes at Joffrey, she was a strong woman but deep inside she was worried. Her father might be killed and her temper might get her killed as well. She hated what she had to do but she knew that she had no choice but to obey Joffrey's commands but there was no way she would strip in front of him if he ordered her to. 'Robb' she thought 'please hurry, we really need you down here.'

...

In Winterfell, the Northern Lords had received the ravens from Robb and had arrived in Winterfell. Many banners had gathered in the courtyard as the lords arrived. Banners included the Mail Fist of House Glover of Deepwood Motte, the Chains of House Umber of Last Hearth, the Axe of House Cerwyn, the Flayed Man of House Bolton of the Dreadfort, the Moose of House Hornwood, the Merman of House Manderly of White Harbour, the White Sun of House Karstark of Karhold, the Trees of House Tallhart of Torrhen's Square and the Bear of House Mormont of Bear Island.

The powerful lords had gathered in the Great Hall as Robb held a quick feast so they could discuss their plans for the march south. Robb and Theon were in the Great Hall along with Lord Jon Umber, nicknamed Greatjon, along with his son and heir Jon Umber nicknamed Smalljon. Lord Galbert Glover along with his brother Robett had arrived from Deepwood Motte along with Lord Roose Bolton and Lady Maege Mormont and her eldest daughter Dacey.

Many of the lords were eager to march down to war. They all respected Eddard Stark and were ready to go to war to save him. The traditions of the North had made the people battle-hardens and lords such as Lord Umber saw the south as soft and full of fools. But there was a bit of an argument going on now, because they had never seen Robb fight before, they weren't sure if he was ready to lead the men south. Many lords such as Lords Umber and Karstark had fought in Robert's Rebellion under Eddard and were expert soldiers and leaders so they were unsure of Robb's leadership.

"For 30 years I've been making corpses of men boy" Greatjon Umber stated "I'm the man you want to lead the Vanguard."

But Robb had someone else in mind for leading the Vanguard, he wanted someone who he trusted "Lord Galbert Glover will be leading the Vanguard" Robb stated, Galbert Glover was the lord of Deepwood Motte and Robb had visited him several times so he was a man who Robb knew and trusted.

Lord Umber was insulted "The Wall will melt before an Umber marches behind a Glover" he shouted "I will lead the Van, or I will take my men and march them back home."

There were a few moments silence before Robb narrowed his eyes at Lord Umber "You are welcome to do so Lord Umber" he stated "And when I am done with the Lannisters, I will march back North, root you out of your keep and hang you as an Oathbreaker."

"Oathbreaker is it!" Lord Umber snapped before he stood up fast "I will not sit here and take insults from a boy so green that he pisses grass" He was about to draw his sword and Theon was ready to draw his own sword to defend Robb. But Robb's Direwolf beat him to it and jumped across the table and leapt onto Lord Umber, knocking him to the ground. There were a few groans and Robb's Direwolf Grey Wind bit Lord Umber a few times.

"My Lord father taught me that it was death to bear steel against your liege lord" Robb stated as Lord Umber stood back up. But doubtless, the Greatjon only meant to cut my meat for me"

Greatjon Umber looked at Robb "Your meat..." he started with an angry face which soon fell and was replaced with an amused one "Is bloody tough" he then showed his hand which had two fingers bitten off and then the hall burst into laughter although Bran looked around and was a bit worried at all the big men laughing.

Later that night, Bran was fast asleep in his room when he was woken up by someone shaking his shoulder. Bran turned around to see that it was his brother Robb who had woken him "What is it?" he asked "What's happening

"Shhh" Robb hissed "It's alright"

Bran then looked to see that Robb was ready for travelling "Where are you going?"

"South" Robb answered "To go and save father and our sisters"

"But it's the middle of the night" Bran stated

"The Lannisters have spies everywhere" Robb claimed "I don't want them to know that we are coming"

Bran looked a bit worried "They have more men that we do?" he questioned

Robb nodded "Aye, they do"

Bran then tried to sit up though he found it hard since his legs were crippled "Can't I come with you?" he asked "I can ride now, you've seen me ride. And I won't get in your way, I promise you"

Robb shook his head "There must always be a Stark in Winterfell" he stated "That will be you while I'm gone. You must not leave the castle walls while we are gone, do you understand?" Bran nodded in response "Listen to Maester Luwin and look after Rickon."

"I will" Bran stated

"I will send letter whenever I can" Robb claimed "And if you don't hear from me, don't be scared." Bran was quiet and then Robb got up and left the room. Deep down, Bran was a bit scared, he had no training on how to run a keep but Maester Luwin would be able to help him.

Then after Robb left, Bran spotted someone else approaching his room, the figure got closer and Bran saw that it was his younger brother Rickon "How long have you been hiding there?" Bran questioned, he knew that Rickon might get upset since he was only 6 years old and he was having the most problems without his mother "Robb will be looking for you to say goodbye"

"They've all gone away" Rickon stated

"They will be back soon" Bran assured him "Robb will free father along with our sisters. And they'll come back with mother as well."

Rickon shook his head "No they won't" he stated as he walked away and Bran watched as his brother walked away with a sad look on his face.

...

In King's Landing, Sansa walked through the throne room of the Red Keep. She had been called here so that she could try and help save her father's life. Many of the higher up people of King's Landing had gathered here and Sansa politely greeted them though she received no replies. Then she saw her sister Astrid though she was shocked to see Astrid was dressed as a noble lady, she never thought she would see Astrid dressed up as a southern lady and Sansa had to admit that she was pretty when she wasn't covered in filth "Astrid" she greeted "You look beautiful"

Astrid rolled her eyes and snorted "Doesn't mean I like it" she hissed "I may have to dress up like this in court but at the first opportunity, I'm tearing this stupid dress to pieces, how can the ladies of the south even breath in these corsets? This thing is crushing my ribs. Jeyne is gone by the way; they gave her to Littlefinger who said that he would take care of her."

Sansa was shocked that her best friend was gone but she didn't have time to think about it and then she looked at King Joffrey who was sat on the Iron Throne. His Small Council except for Renly were standing around him along with his mother while the Kingsguard stood in front of the throne.

Grand Maester Pycelle then unrolled a scroll and read it "It is the wish that his loyal servant Janos Slynt, Commander of the City Watch be raised to the rank of Lord and granted the ancient seat of Harrenhal and that his sons and grandsons shall hold this honour after him until the end of time."

Janos bowed and Astrid narrowed her eyes and looked at Sansa "I've learnt that he betrayed our father, that man is loyal to nothing but gold, he even accepts bribes from criminals in the city and lets people go unpunished for rape, murder and theft. If I had my way, his arms and legs would have been removed from his body as punishment for what he's done but now he's being rewarded like he's some kind of hero." She stated as Janos walked away to the side.

Pycelle then carried on "In the place of the traitor, Eddard Stark, it is the wish of his grace that Lord Tywin Lannister, lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West be appointed as Hand of the King." There were a few whisperers among the people gathered; they knew that Tywin Lannister was an effective ruler as Hand of the King as he was King Aerys II's hand for two decades which saw peace during those years. "And lastly in these times of treason and turmoil, it is the view of the council that the life and safety of his Grace King Joffrey be our top priority."

Cersei then leaned forward in her seat and stood up "Ser Barristan Selmy" she stated and then the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard stepped forward and bowed in front of the King.

"Your Grace" he stated as he knelt "I am yours to command"

"Stand Ser Barristan" Cersei stated "You may remove your helm" Barristan then removed his helmet as Cersei continued "You have served the realm long and faithfully, every man and woman in the seven kingdoms owns you thanks, but it is time for you to set aside your armour and sword, it is time for you to rest and look back on pride of your many years of service"

Barristan was shocked at this, never in the history of the Kingsguard had a member of the order been dismissed "Your Grace, the Kingsguard is a sworn Brotherhood, our vows are sworn for life, only death relives us of our sacred vows"

"Whose death Ser Barristan?" Cersei questioned "Yours or the King's."

"You let my father die" Joffrey sneered as he leaned forward "You're too old to protect anybody."

"Your Grace..." Barristan started but was interrupted by the queen

"The council has decided that Ser Jaime Lannister will be taking your place as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard" she stated

"A man who ruined his blade with the blood of his King when he killed the King he was sworn to protect" Barristan hissed

"Careful Ser!" Cersei snapped

"We have nothing but gratitude for your years of service Ser Barristan" Varys stated "You shall be given a stout keep by the sea with servants to look after your every need."

Barristan was insulted "A hall to die in!" he hissed "And men to bury me" he then tore off his armour and threw it on the ground "I am a knight and I shall die a knight."

"A naked knight apparently" Littlefinger laughed which resulted in many others laughing though Astrid didn't, Eddard always talked about how Barristan was a great man and he deserved better treatment than this. Then Barristan drew his sword which resulted in the other Kingsguard drawing their own swords.

"Even right now I could cut through the five of you like carving a cake" he snapped and then he glared at Joffrey "Here boy" he threw the sword onto the ground "Melt it down and add it to the others" then he turned around and stormed out of the throne room as the other Kingsguard place their swords back in their belts.

"If any man in this hall has any other matters to set before his Grace" The Steward stated "Let him speak now or go forth to his silence."

Sansa stepped forward "Your Grace" she stated

"Come forward my lady" Joffrey stated

Sansa stepped forward as the steward introduced her "Lady Sansa of House Stark"

"Do you have any business with the King and his Council?" Cersei asked

"I do" Sansa answered as she knelt down onto her knees "As it please your Grace I ask mercy for my father. Lord Eddard Stark who was Hand of the King."

"Treason is a weed" Pycelle spat "Which should be torn out"

"Let her speak" Joffrey "I want to hear what she has to say"

"Thank you your Grace" Sansa smiled

"So you deny your father's crime?" Baelish asked

"No my lord" Sansa stated which made Astrid narrow her eyes in anger "I know that he must be punished, all I ask is mercy. I know my father must regret what he did, he was King Robert's friend and he loved him. All know he loved him, he never wanted to be hand until the King asked him. They must have lied to him, Lord Renly or lord Stannis, they must have told him lies which made him think that you were not the rightful heir to the Throne."

"He said I wasn't the King" Joffrey stated "Why would he say that"

"He was injured" Sansa stated "Pycelle was giving him Milk of the Poppy, he wasn't himself, otherwise he never would have said it"

"A child's faith" Varys stated "Such sweet innocence, and yet they say wisdom comes from the mouths of babes"

"Treason is treason!" Pycelle spat

"Do you have anything else to say?" Joffrey asked

"If you have any affection left in your heart for me" Sansa begged "Then please do me this kindness"

Joffrey sighed and looked at Sansa "Your sweet words have moved me" he stated "But your father has to confess. He has to confess and say that I'm the King. Or there will be no mercy for him"

"He will" Sansa stated as Astrid looked around the room. She had to admire Sansa for this, there was no way she would do something like this. But she knew what kind of a person Joffrey was and she was a little unsure if he would keep his word.

 **Chapter end:**

 **Notes: Well it's been a long time since I've last wrote anything because I've had my exams but now they are over and I'm not starting my studies again until September so I have plenty of time to write. I've also started work on the next story in my Dragon-X series so be on the lookout for that story soon.**


	12. March of the North:

**March of the North:**

 **Riverlands, near the Twins:**

After Robb had called his Banners, they had begun to quickly march south so that they could rescue their Lord. Lord Eddard Stark was very popular with most of his Bannermen and respected since they had all fought alongside each other during Robert's Rebellion nearly 17 years ago. Now they would be fighting another war alongside Eddard Stark's son. The army had made camp as they made their plans as they prepared to enter the Riverlands. They knew that the Lannisters had sent an army into the Riverlands after Catelyn had abducted Tyrion Lannister but they didn't know the strength so Robb had sent Scouts out to find the armies and learn how strong they were.

The place they had made Camp was just in the Riverlands along the Kingsroad and they were camped near the bridge castle of the Twins. It was the middle of the morning and two figures road over the hills. Robb's mother Lady Catelyn along with Winterfell's master of arms Rodrik Cassel road together as they came back from the Twins. Catelyn had heard of her husband's arrest and tried to get her sister Lysa to help but Lysa had refused and Catelyn could see that she was starting to go insane.

Rodrik and Catelyn stopped their horses and started at the massive army that had been gathered "summer snows my lady" Rodrik stated

"Robb's brought the North with him" Catelyn stated and then the two of them road into camp.

Robb Stark was in his tent alongside Theon Greyjoy, Greatjon Umber, Rickard Karstark, Galbert Glover and Roose Bolton. They had just got reports back from the scouts and it wasn't good news "The Riverlords are falling back with Jaime Lannister on their heels" he stated "Jaime defeated the Riverlords at the Golden Tooth and had captured my Uncle Edmure Tully outside Riverrun. Tytos Blackwood has taken command of Riverrun's troops and now defends the castle." And there was worse news "And Lord Tywin has brought a second army, Gregor Clegane has burnt the lands of the Pipers and Brakens. Tywin had managed to capture Raventree Hall, Harrenhal and Darry and is now camped near the Green Fork. The scouts confirmed that this army is even bigger than the Kingslayers"

"This war is not going well for the Riverlords" Roose Bolton stated

"One army or two" Greatjon snorted "The Kings in the North threw back hosts ten times as large" It was then that he spotted Lady Catelyn arrive and he stood up and bowed as did the other lords.

Robb turned around and smiled "Mother" he greeted and he went over to her.

"Lady Stark" Greatjon greeted "You're a welcome sight in these troubled times"

Catelyn sighed "I would like to speak with my son alone"

Greatjon nodded "Come along" he ordered "Our Lord has something to discuss" he then began to leave the tent and grabbed Theon's shoulder "You too Greyjoy" he then left as he greeted Rodrik "Rodrik you old fossil" the two of them then left laughing leaving Robb and Catelyn alone.

Now that they were alone, the two of them embraced each other and Catelyn spoke first "I remember when I first gave birth to you. You were small, red and full of tears. Now look at you, leading an army to war."

"There was no one else" Robb stated

"No one?" Catelyn questioned "Who were those men?"

Robb was silent for a second but then answered "None of them are Starks"

"They're all seasonal commanders" Catelyn defended "They led armies during the Rebellion"

"Robb narrowed his eyes "I will not go back to Winterfell. I will not be seen as a coward by my own men. The Lannisters have my father and sisters, I will save them"

Catelyn had a few tears in her eyes "I would be unable to send you back anyway" she stated "The people of the North would never accept it."

Robb then remembered something "There was a letter from Sansa" he stated and he walked over to the table and picked up the letter that Sansa had sent them.

Catelyn knew instantly that even though Sansa had written it, the queen had made her do it "From the Queen you mean" she stated and then she took the letter and read it "There's no mention of Arya?"

"No" Robb stated "The letter states that the Lannisters have Astrid too. That worries me more; I'm worried that she's going to get herself hurt or worse. You know what she's like"

"I do" Catelyn stated "Astrid and I may have been at odds with each other but she is still my daughter. I would never forgive myself if she is hurt in any way. But if you go down to King's Landing to swear to Joffrey…"

Robb finished the sentence for her "I would never be allowed to leave or worse" he stated "I remember father telling me about when his father went South at the start of the Rebellion and was killed. Joffrey could do the same to me."

Catelyn nodded "Our only hope is for you to beat them in the field" she claimed "How many men did you bring?"

"About 27,000" Robb answered "That's bigger than both the forces that Tywin and Jaime have but combined, they are stronger. What happens if I lose?"

Catelyn did not like the answer she had for that "Do you know what happened to the Targaryen children after the Rebellion"

Robb knew the answer, it had been something that his father had hated about the Rebellion and had been unable to get justice for what happened "Father told me how Amory Lorch stabbed the toddler Rhaenys Targaryen 50 times. Then Gregor Clegane smashed baby Aegon's head then raped and murdered Elia Martell."

Catelyn had fear in her eyes "If you lose, your father dies, your sisters die, we die and House Stark falls."

Robb looked at his mother "Well that makes it simple then" he stated

…

 **Red Keep: Dungeons:**

Eddard couldn't see a thing in the dungeons which was why they were named the Black Cells. The only light came from a torch when Varys visited. And Eddard saw the torch again which meant that Varys was back "You've seen better days my lord" he stated

Eddard looked at him "Another visit?" he questioned "It seems that you're my last friend" he then took a sip from the water flask that Varys gave him

"No" Varys claimed "Many still love you. Sansa came to court this morning to plead for your life"

Eddard snorted "On her knees begging" he claimed "Astrid would never do that"

"Yes" Varys claimed "You eldest daughter is like a pot of wildfire ready to explode. But she knows that she could get killed in this city so for now she's staying calm but that might not last. And if you think that I want you dead then you are wrong, your blood in the last thing I want."

Eddard groaned in frustration "I don't know what you want. I've given up trying to guess."

Varys sighed and looked at Eddard "When I was a young boy, before they cut my balls off with a hot knife, I travelled with a group of actors through the free cities. They taught me that every man has a role to play. The same is true at court, I am the Master of Whisperers, and my role is to be sly. I'm a good actor my lord"

Eddard gave a small chuckle "Can you free me from this pit?"

"I could" Varys answered "But will I?" he shook his head "No" Eddard laughed at that as he knew that Varys would say that "As I said, I'm no hero"

Eddard narrowed his eyes "What is it you want?" he demanded "No riddles, no stories just tell me."

"What I want is peace" Varys answered "Did you know that your son is marching South with an army to free you"

"Robb?" Eddard questioned and sighed "He's just a boy"

"So were you when you rose in Rebellion with your friend Robert" Varys stated "Your actions tore the realm apart and saw the death of innocent children"

"I know that!" Eddard snapped "That was the worst part, seeing the bodies of those children and Robert calling them Dragonspawn. If I was in command I would have executed those responsible. That was not justice that was murder."

"And that could happen again" Varys claimed "It's not just your son; word on the street is that Renly Baratheon has risen up in Rebellion and has gathered a great host. Stannis is the same but as little support"

"Stannis is Robert's true heir" Eddard snapped "By the Lords of Gods and Men he is the rightful King on the Iron Throne."

"King Joffrey has agreed to spare your life if you confess your crimes and proclaim Joffrey as the true King on the Throne" Varys stated "He'll let you live out the rest of your days as a sworn member of the Night's Watch with your brother and bastard son"

Eddard laughed "You think my life is important to me" he hissed "I'll never allow someone who doesn't have a claim to the throne be King. Even if Joffrey kills me, I accept my fate; I learned to die long ago"

Varys sighed "I understand that but what about the life of your daughters?" he stated which made Eddard look at him "Joffrey may try and hurt them to get to you. Whatever happens, the fate of the Realm is in your hands, the question is, what will you do?" Varys turned and left leaving Eddard alone in the dark again and now worried about his daughters.

…

 **Riverlands:**

Robb Stark was in his tent with some of his Bannermen as they discussed what they would do now.

"We need to get Tywin onto rougher ground" Rodrik Cassel stated "Make it difficult for his men to fight"

Greatjon disagreed "No we need to go around him" he suggested "We need to relieve the siege of Riverrun. Do that and the Riverlords will join us to help save Lord Stark."

Robb looked at the map "To do either of those ideas we have to cross the River" he stated "The only crossing is at the Twins"

"The Twins are controlled by Lord Frey" Theon stated and looked at Catelyn "He's your father's Bannerman, we can expect his support"

Catelyn disagreed with that "The Late Lord Frey my father calls him" she stated "At the Battle of the Trident, he didn't appear until the Battle was done. Some men take their oaths more seriously than others."

Robb looked at his mother "How powerful is House Frey?" he asked

"They're one of the most Powerful Houses in the Riverlands" Catelyn stated "But they are also a young House so they are looked down on by other Houses of the Riverlands as upstart toll collectors. They made their wealth from collection toll from crossing. If we are to cross then they will want something in return. Now we could beat them in battle since we have more men but right now, they're the only House that can gather the men to help us fight the Lannisters. House Mallister could help as well. If we're going to defeat the Lannisters, we're going to need all the support we can get"

"I'll go and talk to Lord Frey to allow us to cross" Robb stated

His Bannermen disagreed with him "If you go in alone, Lord Frey could take you hostage and hand you over to the Lannisters" Rickard Karstark protested

"I'll go" Catelyn stated "I'm the daughter of Lord Tully; I'll have more influence over him"

Robb was about to protest but he knew that she was right "Well we have to find a way, we need that bridge"

"Robb's right" Theon stated "We need that bridge"

Greatjon looked at Robb "So what's it going to be?" he asked "Are we going to attack Jaime Lannister or Lord Tywin. It's your choice"

Robb needed to think on that, there were two powerful armies and both posed a big threat to him. But even if he was able to defeat one of them, the other would still be powerful enough to defeat him. But before he could say anything, the flaps opened and several Stark Scouts dragged someone in.

"Beg pardon my lords" one scout said "But we've captured a Lannister Scout""

Theon quickly rolled the map to cover it which Greatjon noticed "Don't worry lad" he stated "He won't be leaving this tent with his head"

Robb looked at the men "Where did you find him?" he asked

"In the bush above the encampment" the Stark Scout stated "He looked to be counting, he may know our numbers"

Robb now had an idea about what he could do "How how did you get?" he asked "How many men did you count"

The Scout feared for his life and answered "About 20,000" he replied

Rodrik knew what the lords wanted him to do "You don't have to do this yourself" he stated "Your father would understand..."

Robb cut him off "My father understands mercy when there is room for it" he stated "And he understands honour, and courage" he then leaned close to the scout "Tell Lord Tywin that winter is coming for him. 20,000 Northerns marching south to see if he really shits gold"

The scout looked scared but answered "Yes my Lord. Thank you my lord" the others then let him go and he left the tent.

But the Lords weren't too happy about letting him go "Have you lost your mind!" Greatjon snapped "Now they know what we're going to do"

"Unless I choose not to" Robb smirked "Since Tywin will be expecting us, Jaime will not. Jaime's spent his life as a bodyguard, not a commander of armies. I'll be going to capture Jaime if we can cross the Twins."

Karstark smirked at this "So we're going to trick those Lannister Bastards" he smirked "Oh I like that idea"

Greatjon smirked "So do I"

Robb looked at them "But first of all, we'll need to cross the Twins" he stated

"Then I better go and start negotiating" Catelyn stated as she left to request a meeting with Lord Walder Frey.

...

Later Catelyn returned to Robb's tent after she had talked with Lord Walder Frey "Well?" Robb asked "What did Lord Frey say? Will he allow us to cross?"

"Lord Frey has granted your crossing" Catelyn stated which made everyone sigh in relief "His men are yours as well, except for 400 that he will keep here to hold the crossing against any that will pursue you"

"And what does Lord Frey want in return?" Robb asked

"You will be taking on his son Olyvar as your personal squire" Catelyn stated "He expects a Knighthood in time; also I will be taking some of his younger sons for fostering at Winterfell."

"That's fine with me" Robb stated "Bran and Rickon will be happy to have new friends." But he could see that there was more "And?"

Catelyn sighed "And Arya will be marrying his son Elmar when they come of age. Elmar is still a little boy. He had originally wanted Astrid but I told him that Astrid would be more likely to kill him on their wedding night"

"Arya won't be too pleased about that either" Robb stated but he could see that there was one last thing "And what else is there?"

"And once the war is finished, you will marry one of his daughters" Catelyn answered "There are a few that he has selected which he thinks will be suitable"

"I see" Robb stated and he looked at his mother "Did you get a look at his daughters." He then glared at Theon who was sniggering

"I did" Catelyn answered "There was one that stood out as a beauty among the others" she then looked at her son "Do you consent?"

"Can I refuse?" Robb asked but he knew that answer

"Not if you want to cross" Catelyn answered

Robb looked around and then answered "Then I consent" he stated "And now it is time to put my plan into action"

"And what is our plan?" Greatjon added

"I'll be taking about 10,000 of my men along with reinforcements from Houses Frey and Mallister and attack the Kingslayer. Lord Roose will take the remaining 17,000 towards Tywin's army"

Lord Roose Bolton looked at him "So you want me to knock out Tywin's army" he asked

Robb shook his head "Tywin's army is more well trained and well armoured than us to take him on directly. You're just going to distract him. Do don't engage directly, I can't afford to take heavy loses this early in the war."

"I understand" Lord Roose stated

"Now we'll also be splitting up our troops so that Tywin will think that I've sent my entire force against him. Now that we have our plan, let's move out, the Riverlords are depending on us"

Within the Hour, the Northern Host had marched across the Twins and soon they split up to form two armies ready to take on Tywin and Jaime Lannister.

…

 **Red Keep:**

Astrid set in the room which was under heavy guard. Astrid was guarded at all times by Lannister guards although these guards had been forbidden to go into the room. This had been because one guard had entered the room and had begun mocking her and then tried to punch her when she started yelling at her to leave saying that she was nothing. Astrid had shown that even without her weapons, she was still a strong fighter. Astrid had bitten off the man's ear and had punched the man many times that his nose had been crushed. The Kingsguard had been forced to drag her off in front of Joffrey who had been amused by what she did. Now only Joffrey came into her room and he always had his Kingsguard with him which included the Hound as well as Arys Oakheart who were the better fighters in the Kingsguard.

Joffrey seemed to have developed something for Astrid and it was not of love. Joffrey like her wild attitude and saw it as something he could use for amusement. Astrid would have loved nothing more than to kill the brat slowly and painfully but she knew that would likely get her killed so she waited. She knew that Jeyne Poole had vanished and no one had seen her. Since her family were just stewards of Winterfell and not nobles, the girl had no use to the Lannisters and so she had been given away to Baelish although Sansa and Astrid did not know that. But it still sent a message to the girls for them to behave.

Astrid heard the door open and saw Joffrey enter the room with his guards and he smirked at her "Hello my lady" he said in a mocking voice "You're looking beautiful" Astrid said nothing "You know it's rude not to speak when your King speaks to you"

Astrid glared at him "Your rule has already gotten off to a bad start" she stated "Your uncles are rebelling and my brother as well as my people are marching here to save us"

Joffrey smirked "That will change soon" he stated "Your father will confess his crimes which will convince his son to go home"

Astrid narrowed his eyes "The Northern Lords will never believe that!" she hissed "The Lords of the North will know that it was lies you made up and that may only convince them to join sides with one of your uncles"

Joffrey laughed "We'll see about that. Now later the Maids will be here to prepare you. You'll be standing alongside me at the Sept of Baelor when your father confesses. You have to be presentable" he then left leaving Astrid furious but she knew that there was nothing she could do. The best thing for her was to wait and hope for the best. She was in enemy territory and had no idea of how she could escape the city and then find her way back north. She would have to pass through the Crownlands and then through the Lannister controlled Riverlands to get to Robb. So all she could do was hope that Robb could beat the Lannisters in the field and then the Lannister might release her as well as her sister.

…

 **Green Fork: Riverlands:**

Lord Roose Bolton sat on his horse as he watched the Battle of the Green Fork go ahead as a distraction for Robb to attack Jaime Lannister. Many of the men fought willingly for House Stark. Despite being told not to attack Tywin Lannister and just distract him, the vanguards of both armies had ended up clashing in the middle. Tywin's army had been better armoured but Roose had been able to hold them off long enough in order to distract Tywin before he had ordered a retreat. While the Vanguard had been fighting, Roose left but had left Lord Halys Hornwood, a loyal bannerman of House Stark. Halys had stayed willingly and had managed to hold Tywin's vanguard off but had eventually been killed when the Mountain charged towards him and sliced off his head.

By the time the Battle was over, the entire Stark Vanguard were either killed or captured. Lord Medger Cerwyn had been captured along with Ser Wylis Manderly and Ser Donnel Locke. The Starks had suffered 5000 dead or captured in the end. But the battle had consequences for the Lannisters as well. About 500 had been killed in the fight and many more had been wounded.

Tyrion Lannister had returned from the Vale after being released. His new friends Bronn had won a trial by combat and Tyrion had been able to return along with some clansmen that he had met in the Vale. Tyrion and his group had been placed in the vanguard however Tyrion had been knocked down by a horse and had not seen the fight. By the time he woke up, the battle was over and he was being carried on a cart and he saw his father riding on a horse.

"Did we win?" he asked

"Oh we won alright, but it's not a true victory" Tywin Lannister stated

"Why's that?" Tyrion asked

Tywin looked at him "Robb only sent half his forces here" he stated "The fighting was over and his Vanguard did the fighting, the strength of the army was not big enough to be all of Robb's forces. He mixed up the Banners to confuse us and make us think that this was his entire force. Robb Stark wasn't even here."

"So where is he?" Tyrion asked

Tywin didn't know for certain but he had an idea "He's with the rest of his army."

...

 **Whispering Wood:**

Lady Catelyn Stark and Rodrik Cassel sat on horses as they watched over the hills. They had watched as Robb Stark had ridden into the forest with his men and they had not returned yet. They had been waiting for a long time now and Catelyn was worried for her son.

"We should go my lady" Rodrik suggested

"No" Catelyn protested "I have to see my son"

Eventually, some horsemen rode out from the forest making Catelyn sigh in relief as she saw her son leading them. She smiled even more when she saw some men march out of the forest dragging along a few prisoners including Jaime Lannister.

While marching south, Robb had met Catelyn's uncle Brynden Tully who had returned from the Vale to help his home. With Brynden's help, the remaining Riverland forces had started harassing the Lannister force in the Whispering Wood slaying their scouts and shooting ravens. Eventually Jaime had come with a small force of men to deal with these raiders. Robb had once again split his force and had surrounded Jaime on 3 sides. By the time the fighting was over, the entire Lannister force had been killed or captured including Jaime but not before Jaime had killed Harrion Karstark and Daryn Hornwood.

Robb rode up to his mother and threw Jaime Lannister onto the ground who fell face first into the mud who groaned "By the time they knew what was happening, it had already happened" Robb smirked to his mother

Jaime managed to kneel up "Lady Stark" she greeted "I'd offer you my sword but I seemed to have lost it."

"It is not your sword that I want!" Catelyn spat "Give me my daughters back. Give me my husband back"

"I've lost them too my lady" Jaime stated

"Kill him Robb" Theon suggested "Send his head to his father. He cut down 10 of our men including Harrion and Daryn. You saw him."

Robb shook his head "He's more use to us alive than dead" he stated

"Take him away and put him in irons" Catelyn ordered and several Stark Guards grabbed him.

"We could end this war right now boy" Jaime sneered as Greatjon and Theon grabbed him "Save thousands of lives. You fight for the Starks, I fight for the Lannisters. Choose your weapon and we'll fight one on one and end this here and now"

Robb shook his head "If we do it your way Kingslayer, you'd win" he stated "We're not doing it your way. Take him away"

"Come on pretty man" Greatjon snapped as he dragged Jaime away and laughed as the Stark men cheered.

Robb looked at his mean and decided that he needed to make a speech so he looked at them all and began speaking "One victory does not make us conquers" he stated "Did we free my father? Did we rescue my sisters from the queen? Did we free the north from those who want us on our knees? This war is far from over so we must be ready to fight on. We have defeated the Kingslayer so now we must march and free Riverrun." The men cheered and then they began preparations to carry on marching to Riverrun.

...

 **Kings Landing:**

Arya Stark looked like a boy again. After escaping the Stark Household she along with Astrid's Direwolf had gone into hiding. Huntress would have drawn too much attention so she had stayed where she couldn't be seen in the alleys and Arya would try to find a way for her to escape the city. Arya meanwhile had used Needle to start killing birds for food when she heard the bells start ringing and everyone began heading in one direction so Arya followed them and she came to the Great Sept of Baelor. The Great Sept was the headquarters of the Faith of the Seven and where the High Septon lived. Arya didn't know what was going on but she stood on the statue of Baelor and saw Joffrey along with Cersei standing on a wooden platform along with Varys, Baelish and several Kingsguard. She even saw her sisters Sansa and Astrid as well. Sansa was dressed as a southern lady like she had been for a while but Arya was surprised to see Astrid was also dressed like a southern lady as well.

Arya then heard jeering and watched as several soldiers began dragging her father onto the platform. Eddard's clothes were filthy from his days in the Black cells, his hair was matted and his face caked in dust. His hands were also tied behind his back. Eddard then looked at the crowd "I am Eddard Stark, lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. I have been brought here to confess my crimes. Upon the death of my friend Robert Baratheon, I tried to seize the throne in the name of the traitor Stannis Baratheon. My crimes are treason and I wait for the King's judgement. May the Gods punish me for my crimes?"

Arya couldn't believe what she was hearing, her father had done nothing wrong and now he had confessed to a crime. Joffrey was the real criminal here, he had murdered her families household by using his soldiers. The crowd began shouting and calling Eddard a traitor and some began throwing rotten food at him.

Grand Maester Pycelle stepped forward "What is to be done with the Traitor your Grace?" he asked "He has confessed

Joffrey raised his hand to silence the crowd and then he spoke "My mother wishes me to let Lord Eddard join the Night's Watch, strip of all titles and powers, he will serve them in permanent exile as a sworn brother" he then looked at Sansa "And my lady Sansa has begged mercy has begged mercy for her father." Sansa smiled at Joffrey and she thought that her father was going to live. Astrid however looked concerned, she had seen how Joffrey behaved and believed that something was about to happen. And she was right as Joffrey continued "But they have the soft hearts of woman. So long as I am your King, treason shall never go unpunished." Sansa's smile dropped at that and then Joffrey looked over at Eddard and sneered "Ser Ilyn, bring me his head!"

The crowd cheered at that but the people on the platform weren't as thrilled. Varys didn't want this to happen and stared in shock. The High Septon, a fat man dressed in fancy robes with jewels tried to speak to the King to stop this. This was a holy place and executing someone here would be seen as desecrating the Great Sept. Even Queen Cersei didn't want this and beg Joffrey to reconsider "Son please" she begged "This is Madness" Joffrey didn't listen and she was forced to give up. Cersei had been the one to convince Joffrey to spare Eddard as she knew that the Northern host would be a threat and if they spared Eddard then maybe they would go home and allow her father to concentrate on dealing with the Baratheon brothers.

Sansa started screaming as one of the Kingsguard grabbed hold of her "No Please!" she begged "You promised me"

Astrid was even more aggressive "YOU SON OF A BITHCH! YOU LIAR!" she yelled "YO PROMISED YOU WOULD SPARE HIM, YOU'RE A LYING BASTARD AND A SPINELESS COWARD!" Thankfully Joffrey couldn't hear her as the crowd's cheers were too loud and Joffrey was too busy sneering at Eddard. Two guards forced Eddard to his knees as Ser Ilyn Payne walked onto the platform and put a black mask on to cover his face.

In the crowd, Arya stared in shock and knew that she had to do something to save her father so she jumped down from the platform and began pushing her way through the crowd until she was grabbed by someone.

"Don't look!" the man yelled

"Let me go!" Arya screamed back "Let me go!"

The man grabbed Arya and hid her and Arya recognised him as Yoren, the Night's Watchman she seen earlier "Shut your mouth!" he yelled "Look at me, look at me!"

Ser Ilyn drew the Stark Valyrian Steel Blade Ice and began carrying it over to Eddard as Sansa still screamed and begged Joffrey to stop but nothing was working. Eddard just looked around as Sansa and Astrid screamed and Astrid began fighting the Kingsguard's grip. Eddard looked around some more at the jeering crowd and saw Arya in the crowd being held back by Yoren. She knew that Arya was safe for now and there was nothing that could be done to save him now. He closed his eyes and looked down as he muttered an apology and silent prayer. Then in one clean swing, Ilyn Payne lifted Ice and brought it down on Lord Eddard's neck and his head was sliced clean off and fell to the floor.

The crows cawed and flew away while some of the crowd were still cheering. Astrid stooped her screaming and yelling and only stared at her father's headless corpse in shock.

 **Chapter End:**

 **Notes:** Well it's been a long time since I updated this story but I felt like I should give this story an update. I'm sorry for the long wait but I've been really busy with my other stories over the past months and now with University, I have even less time to write. I know this chapter follows cannon a bit but I wanted to show the start of the war instead of just concentrating on Astrid just before the execution. I decided to use the start of the war that was from the books instead of the TV show as I think that was better for a war. Next chapter may take a while but it will have one of the darkest scenes I have ever written and so it may be difficult for me to write.


End file.
